April 15, 2021: New York, NY
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) declared that U-BioMed’s falsely registered AQUAGOLD® European Union trademark (No. 17902149) is invalid in its entirety, as it was originally created and owned by Aquavit Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Aquavit”). The division concluded that “the [Aquavit’s] application was totally successful and U-BioMed’s European Union trademark has been declared invalid for all the contested goods.”
Aquavit’s microchannel technology, AQUAGOLD®, was launched in 2014 at the American Academy of Dermatology, the largest dermatology conference in the world. Since then, AQUAGOLD® has been loved by many global key opinion leaders and celebrities worldwide. AQUAGOLD® was also featured in Paris, at the 2014 International Master Course on Aging Skin (IMCAS). The counterfeiter has taken AQUAGOLD®’s logo from the box packaging and falsely applied for the same design and trademark, only changing the small font subtitle from “microchannel technology” to “your time is now”.
Fig. 01: Original AQUAGOLD® fine touch™ with Aquavit’s original trademark vs. Counterfeiter U-BioMed’s fake Aquagold Packaging with the now-invalid trademark
“The applicant [Aquavit] is the owner of the US trademark registration No 5234613 for the word mark ‘AQUAGOLD’, filed on 02/06/2014, published on 04/18/2017 and registered on
07/04/2017 for gold-plated injection needles for medical use, namely, for nonsurgical, delivery of drugs, nutrients, and biological compounds to the hair and skin in Class 10 of the Nice Classification.”, the EUIPO stated in the ruling. “Article 60(1)(b) EUTMR in conjunction with Article 8(3) EUTMR, and on the non-registered trademark and copyright ‘AQUAGOLD’ claimed for all the Member States of the EU, in relation to which the applicant invoked Article 60(1)(c) EUTMR in conjunction with Article 8(4) EUTMR and Article 60(2)(c) EUTMR, respectively.”
The request was directed against all the goods covered by the EUTM under Class 10 Medical Device. Aquavit invoked, inter alia, Article 59(1)(b) EUTMR, proving that the EUTM was filed in bad faith.
Fig. 02: Original AQUAGOLD® fine touch™ Trademark vs Counterfeiter U-BioMed’s fake Aquagold Trademark
“It is undisputed that the EUTM proprietor [U-BioMed], at the time of filing the EUTM, had knowledge of the existence of the trade mark ‘Aquagold fine touch’... proving that at the time of filing the EUTM proprietor [U-BioMed] was aware that it was causing harm to the invalidity applicant [Aquavit] and that this harm was a consequence of its reproachable conduct from a moral or commercial view.”
The EUIPO had also revoked the counterfeiter’s design registration on March 01, 2021 and ruled that “the losing party [U-Biomed] must bear the fees and costs incurred by the other party [Aquavit]”. U-BioMed has been ordered to bear the cancellation fee as well as the costs incurred by Aquavit in the course of these proceedings.
Fig. 03: Aquavit’s Original Aquagold finetouch Device Design Falsely Registered by U-BioMed (2018). Now Cancelled by European Union Intellectual Property Court
“We are satisfied with EUIPO’s ruling. It is unfortunate that we have to spend our own time and valuable resources to police the bad actors in the business. It is critical to maintain the highest level of ethics especially when dealing with products in healthcare and protect our patients and providers.”, said Sobin Chang, CEO of Aquavit. “We encourage our healthcare providers and patients to contact the federal and local authorities if they spot a counterfeit, or have been victimized by treatments with counterfeits.”
For more information on how to identify counterfeiters, visit www.AQUAGOLDFINETOUCH.com.
About Aquavit Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aquavit Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a high-tech pharmaceutical company that provides a comprehensive range of innovative pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device technologies. Aquavit Pharmaceuticals, Inc. focuses on personalized medicine to improve patients' health, maximize the efficiency of our medical community, and support the pharmacoeconomics of payers.