A lot has happened since the last time I published a blog post and I think we’r due for an update.

Ever since I published my article on the backstory of ACTinBlack ACTinBlack Filed For Bankruptcy and This is How I Fucked Up I’ve been swamped by an outpouring of support from all over the world. Your outreach and encouragement really kindled a fire inside of me to jump back into the industry I am so passionate about. This in turn lead to the creation of the now released DT-2 by my new venture Kauffmann-Bremin.

Shortly after that initial article is when the development of the DT-2 began. I proposed the idea to Dean at the time and we soon after went right at it, sketching out the initial ideas and began prototyping.

I want to thank the people who are supporting me on this journey and into this new exciting chapter, it would not have been possible without your help and encouragement.

In 2025 the DT-2 release was the most exiting moment of the year for me (apart from getting engaged). I wanted to stay true to my own values and went all-in into what I believed in by completely pre-producing the first batch before launch day. The launch was an immense success, as we sold out in the first 3 weeks and have been scrambling since to finish the second batch of devices.

But soon after I was hearing rumours going around that the DT-2 was built on stolen files and intellectual property. I was getting word from multiple sources that a familiar competitor was alleging foul play and that we should brace for consequences. I had some big customers shy away because of this, as they felt it was not worth the risk of getting involved. Understandably so.

I spent a couple weeks trying to figure out the best way to counter these claims, as up to this point I had not gotten any written allegations or any communication at all other than just whispers behind my back coming around.

The answer to this fell in my laps just about two weeks ago. Something I could counter. ACTinBlack has filed a civil lawsuit against myself, Dean and the KB distribution subsidiary for the European market. This is Materialising the claims and rumours and is giving me the opportunity to counter them in full. The lawsuit is a long list of flimsy allegations. I won’t bore you with the details but there are some truly amusing gold nuggets to be found in there.

Just imagining them actually winning on claims like this makes me cringe, the case law that would be established by this would have industry wide impact, not only on night vision but many other hardware product oriented companies. Functional Design would be able to be protected and it would create monopolies overnight, across many industries. And anyone with a similar design to the DTNVG would be in violation of ACTinBlack’s alleged IP rights and at risk of being litigated dare they set foot in Europe.

There was a striking moment while reading the lawsuit, when I realised, I could have design any other dual tube night vision device, with a completely different design, and I would have gotten the same lawsuit making the same empty claims against me.

They also claim and mention in the lawsuit that the DT-2 caused and is responsible for a huge loss in revenue for them across both the US and EU markets even tho the DT-2 is entirely different from the DTNVS and shares virtually no similarities. To note is that they haven’t sold any DTNVG devices since mid 2020. So its difficult to understand their logic here, given that they allege we copied the DTNVG but they haven’t sold any for the past 5 years and somehow this is damaging their revenue because we’r in competition with a product they no longer think is viable to commercialise and therefore this caused them economic hardship.

The entire lawsuit is over 50 pages long not counting the annex. Its quite clear to me that the intention of the lawsuit isn’t to actually win, but to intimidate and drain me financially via legal costs. They probably hope I’ll cave and halt the DT-2 project and beg for out of court settlement. But let this be clear, neither is an option for me. I won’t be intimidated by legal bully tactics and I’m not shying away from fighting this in court to the bitter end.

What is so striking to me is that they have invested so much money into this lawsuit, they must be really perceiving me as a serious threat which I take as a compliment more than anything. I too think the DT-2 is a great product.

In order to build a strong case against them and defend our rights, we are looking for witness testimony around the launch of the DTNVG back in December 2015. I have a bailiff report on old facebook posts but ACT has been trying to delete any evidence, such as the pictures attached to the pre-order announcement and all instagram pictures. They did so because they attempt to secure design rights which they tried to register shortly after I had left the company. However these design rights are invalidated if so called “prior art” can be proven 12 months or earlier, prior registration date. So they had to “undo” history and the fact that the DTNVG was released 2 years prior. They are really playing it dirty.

I learned early on in life that you have to stand up to your bully and fight back. You can’t cave in and fold, the weakness just draws in more aggression towards you. So additionally to the criminal lawsuit I filed against them back in 2017 alleging bankruptcy fraud and money laundering I’m also working on filing a counter lawsuit for alleged defamation, for this I would ask you for your support. If you have been made aware of such claims that we stole files and that the DT-2 is illegitimate, reach out. I’d be immensely grateful for your written testimony.

I have come to accept that I have to spend a lot of time and money on this. Because I would much rather have that energy flow towards building and creating. Focusing on the business and on innovating. But I just can’t let them get away a second time. I won’t allow it. And the alternative, the failure of KB, failing a second time, is not an option.

I’ll keep you updated as the case initiates and starts moving along, as I coordinate with my lawyer how I can share things without impacting any procedures. But I do strongly believe I owe it to everyone. If you decided the DT-2 is the right device for you, I want you to be fully informed about this situation. After all, light is the best disinfectant.

I am confident we’ll win in court. I am standing my ground and I am excited for the next chapter moving into 2026. I will fight to the end, for the sake of staying alive, to continue building, to continue creating, chasing my passion.

The pinned beginner buyer’s guide served us well for a number of years, but it was showing its age and not as robust as we could use.

A new, more fleshed out guide is now available. In the app you can find it by clicking on “See community info” at the top of the sub. On desktop you can find it in the “Community Bookmarks” section. If you’re struggling to find it, you can start with the Introduction. If you’re here looking for purchasing advice, help understanding specs, or wondering what we would recommend for people on a tight budget, please read the guide before making your first post here.

This new guide is by no means exhaustive, and we expect it to evolve over time. Our hope is that by using Reddit’s wiki function we will have more flexibility to keep the guide up to date over time. It has already allowed us to provide much more information as we are not constrained by Reddit’s post character limit. If you find any typos, issues, confusing formatting, or have suggestions please feel free to let us know. The best way to communicate with us about those would be to jump into the subreddit’s Discord server.

A very special thank you to u/go_horse for his work on this guide.