Philip Morris escalates patent dispute with BAT
Philip Morris yesterday, June 29 faced down a patent infringement suit filed by a subsidiary of rival British American Tobacco (BAT) with counterclaims of its own.
BAT’s RJ Reynolds Vapor Company (RJR), which specialises in vaping and e-cigarette products, sued Philip Morris in April at a Virginia federal court.
The suit relates to Philip Morris’ IQOS tobacco-heating system, which has also been the subject of trademark battles with vape manufacturers in the UK.
RJR also filed a complaint at the US International Trade Commission (ITC), prompting the trade body to begin an investigation into BAT’s rival.
Philip Morris has now hit back with a motion to dismiss the Virginia suit, as well as patent infringement claims of its own.
“Having failed to develop a competing offering in the heated tobacco space, RJR apparently now seeks to block that space in its entirety by bringing this meritless litigation,” a Philip Morris court filing stated.
In its “haste” to bring the litigation, RJR “overlooked” the fact that its competing products infringe multiple Philip Morris patents, the filing claimed.
RJR’s allegedly infringing products include the Vuse vape and e-cigarette brand.
Key features of Vuse products, which work by heating liquids to produce aerosols, are covered by Philip Morris’ patents, the company claimed.
Philip Morris also wants RJR’s infringement claims thrown out, on the grounds that they fail to specify exactly how the IQOS products infringe the patents.
“The [RJR] complaint fails to allege how the accused IQOS Products meet each and every limitation of any of the asserted claims for counts one and two,” said Philip Morris’ motion to dismiss the case, also filed yesterday at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
WIPR contacted RJR for comment in response to Philip Morris’ latest claims.
The IQOS brand and product line have been the focus of a number of IP battles. Philip Morris has previously tried to block vape manufacturers from using names it considers to be too similar to those of its own products.
The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) earlier this year rejected two attempts by Philip Morris to cancel rivals’ trademarks.
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