Elfbar secures global “ELF” trademark rights, but counterfeit products continue to proliferate across US retail channels. Photo credit: Elvobar, CC1.0.
Elfbar secured a major legal victory over its “ELF” trademark, but the bigger battle could still be waiting behind US vape shop counters.
The company announced a permanent settlement with VPR Brands LP, ending a three-year dispute and confirming Elfbar’s ownership of all ELF-formative trademarks, including ELFBAR, ELFA, and ELFLIQ, across major global markets.
Under the agreement, VPR will withdraw all litigation, cease using the ‘ELF’ name on products and relinquish future claims tied to the trademark.
The settlement covers major regions including the US, Canada, the UK, and the European Union, effectively ending one of the more high-profile trademark disputes in the vape industry.
"With this resolution, we cement our full-package, legitimate claims to the 'ELF' trademark, which rightfully belongs to Elfbar. This also largely helps keep our global trademark portfolio and brand strategy intact," said an Elfbar spokesperson.
In mainland China, several favorable court rulings and intellectual property decisions from 2020 to 2024 reinforced Elbar's lawful rights to the “ELF” trademark in this dispute. This decision helps the company secure global ownership of the “ELF” trademark. Elfbar remains committed to protecting its intellectual property worldwide, including in key markets in 2025, such as the Czech Republic, Germany, and Slovakia, and will take further action, the company said.
But even as the legal battle concludes, enforcement challenges persist—especially in the United States. Elfbar stated that infringing products exploiting its brand name are “rampant” in the US, where it has not shipped authorized products since February 2023. That gap has formed a vacuum. Thousands of US convenience stores and vape shops sell counterfeit Elfbar products to unknowing consumers.
“None of the products currently marketed in the US bearing the ‘ELF’ trademark… is manufactured, shipped, supplied, or authorized by the brand,” the company said.
The situation highlights a broader problem in the US nicotine market, where unauthorized disposable vapes fill retail shelves, often bearing familiar brand names without clear supply chains or regulatory approval.
For Elfbar, winning the trademark gives a stronger legal basis to challenge those products—but it doesn’t fix the core enforcement issue. “We will conscientiously enforce our rights globally to safeguard adult users from counterfeit and imitation products,” the company said.
The dispute itself dates back several years and included multiple rulings in China between 2020 and 2024 that supported Elfbar’s claim to the trademark.