E-cigarette row sees family name up in smoke

Father-of-two Adam Parker is now being forced to change the name of his corner shop because it might be confused with the firm.

Adam Parker launched Elite Vaping in Lucknow Road, Willenhall 13 months ago, with a moniker that echoed that chosen by his wife Lisa when she started the nearby Elite Hair Studio in 2004.

The name commemorated the Elite apartments on the Greek island of Kos where he had proposed to her.

However Zandera, the company behind E-Lites, has now threatened to sue the 34-year-old salesman for infringement of trademark if the name is not changed, claiming it is too similar to that of its product.

Mr Parker, who lives in Willenhall, said: "The letter from their solicitors came like a bolt out of the blue last month. They suggested I was trying to piggyback on their success.

"Nothing could be further from the truth. Elite has been used as a business name by my family for ten years and there was no problem registering Elite Vaping with Companies House. It is neither spelt nor sounds like E-Lites. They are involved with electric cigarettes while my shop handles vapourisers, vaping equipment and e-liquids. It is completely different."

He added: "When we pointed this out they replied that slight variations in the name could not be allowed because their name was sometimes misspelled by the public and my shop might cause further confusion.

"There is no way that I can fight this. They are a well established company with a multi million pound annual turnover. I have a little shop that was started after I sold my wife's mini for £5,500. They have deep pockets to pay for legal proceedings and I do not. It would have been David and Goliath."

Mr Parker, who is opening a second shop in Aldridge town centre, is set to rebrand the business as Supreme. He said: "It will cost a lot of money to change signage, stock and other items but I have no alternative."

His wife Lisa, aged 30, commented: "This has been a very stressful time for us, especially as I have a five month old baby. I am sad that we have had to drop the family name but hopefully our customers are sufficiently loyal to stick with us. In any event Adam must be doing something right for a big company like this to be sufficiently worried by the competition to threaten to take him to court."

Mr John Coldham, a director of solicitors Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co, said: "Our client Zandera Limited has invested significantly in its registered 'E-Lites' trade mark and has worked tirelessly to establish its position as a leading player in the electronic cigarette market. Our client has a duty to defend its 'E-Lites' trade mark and will vigorously do so if required. It remains our client's hope that correspondence with Elite Vaping will resolve this matter amicably and that Elite Vaping will respect our client's rights.'