Bogus bongs or bogus lawsuits? Pipe maker sues over fakes

Both marijuana and the tools used to smoke it remain illegal under federal law, but that hasn't stopped Roor and its American licensee from using the federal courts to protect the brand and its sales.

In Florida, California and New York, lawyers are accusing smoke shops and mom-and-pop convenience stores of selling counterfeit Roor bongs in violation of U.S. Trademark No. 3675839, protecting SMOKER'S ARTICLES, NAMELY, GLASS PIPES, BONGS, WATER PIPES, (and) WATER PIPES OF GLASS sold under the Roor mark, which has a stylized font with the last R'' facing backwards.

[...] that marijuana has increasingly been legalized for medical or recreational use in some U.S. states, consumer demand for such drug paraphernalia is booming, and imitators of the German pipe maker abound. 

The accused sellers could challenge the legality of the company's 2009 trademark, which specifically calls its product a bong.

[...] Roor, she said, would have to show it never went after the pot market — which might be hard given its bongs have won numerous awards in High Times magazine's annual Cannabis Cup competition.

Smoke shop owner Jay Work calls the Roor lawsuits legalized extortion of smoke shop owners who are vulnerable because they sell bongs in a "gray" market where "you look not to ruffle feathers."

Steve Bloom, editor of Freedom Leaf magazine and publisher of celebstoner.com, said Roor remains a status symbol among serious marijuana smokers, but has lost dominance to other top-end bong makers.

Ken Minerley, a South Florida lawyer representing six smoke and convenience stores being sued by Roor, said some of his mom-and-pop clients sold a single fake Roor pipe to an undercover company agent after buying them from a distributor who also sells underwear, toiletries and other goods.