Surprising attack on our HANG® brand

Application for cancellation of the HANG brand: PANArt will thwart this attack.

PANArt Hangbau AG registered the name HANG as a brand name in 2008. At that time, the first copies came onto the market: Bellart from Spain, Halo from Pantheon Steel, USA, Caisa from Germany. It became apparent that the word Hang was threatening to become a generic term for these new sound objects. PANArt wanted to prevent this, as "Hang" stands for more than just an external shape and is a locally anchored term (Bernese German for "hand").

The integral Hang, which was created during this period, stands for an artistic work that is more than just a musical instrument. It captured the spirit of the times. PANArt came under pressure to produce more such charming sound objects.

Sabina Schärer and Felix Rohner, the creators of the Hang sculpture, refused to be drawn into an industrial production process, knowing full well that their energies would soon be sapped if their work was commercialised. The work in progress would have come to an end - quickly.

The two creators needed protection, as did the name of their sound sculptures.

Unfortunately, we now have to announce that the HANG brand has been attacked by a company in Munich (Handpan.world) headed by Mr Emanuel Eitle: Their lawyers at Bird & Bird have applied for cancellation of the brand due to non-use in the EU.

In the midst of the ongoing debate on the copyright of the Hang sculpture, this attack on the HANG brand comes as a great surprise, as the application for cancellation is aimed at a part of PANArt that has so far been widely accepted even among handpan manufacturers.

This attack on PANArt is incomprehensible or can only be interpreted as an attempt to force PANArt to incur a lot of work and costs. We have to prove the use of the brand. We have done this and are confident that the brand will remain with us. It is obvious that we have been using and protecting the HANG brand in the EU for over 15 years in relation to our instruments and the application for cancellation due to non-use is therefore pure harassment.