Mission statement

Countless people have developed a relationship with and enriched their lives through the handpan for more than a decade, and many can’t imagine a life without it. Over the years, the handpan instrument has developed its own community and has become a worldwide movement.

Unfortunately there is a long history of lawsuits between PANArt, creators of the Hang®, and various handpan makers. Recently a copyright claim has been made which states that Handpans which  use a similar shape as the Hang®, are illegal copies. If the claim stands, it could have wide-ranging consequences which have the potential to seriously compromise the future of our community.

This has led to the emergence of the Handpan Community United (HCU) foundation. HCU is a non-profit organization with one main focus: To safeguard and protect the growing international handpan community, through the commitment to preserve the playing, fabrication, availability and the further development of the handpan musical instrument. 

To ensure our main purpose, HCU is willing to give support to individuals where needed, be it financial, advisory or otherwise- while not specifically endorsing or supporting the actions of any individual reseller or maker.

We have enormous respect for Felix Rohner’s and Sabina Schärer’s work. However, we do not feel their claim of copyright is fair nor correct in the current climate towards our community.