UK Supreme Court Rejects BAT's IQOS Patent Lawsuit
According to World Intellectual Property Review, the UK High Court has dismissed two patent lawsuits brought by British American Tobacco (BAT). The court rejected BAT's claims that Philip Morris International's (PMI) IQOS heated tobacco product infringed
According to the World Intellectual Property Review, the UK High Court has dismissed two patent lawsuits filed by British American Tobacco (BAT) regarding e-cigarettes. The court rejected BAT's claims that Philip Morris International (PMI) infringed on patents related to the IQOS heated tobacco product.<\/span><\/div>
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Judge Richard Meade concluded on March 9 that BAT's patents lacked "inventiveness" compared to PMI's patents.<\/span><\/div>
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One of BAT's patents, EP3398460, covers "a smoke-generating device with a housing heating rod and cigarettes," while another, EP3491944, relates to a cigarette "used with a smoke-generating device."<\/span><\/div>
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Meade argued that these patents only cover methods of making tobacco into cigarette form, and all methods (including rolling, gathering, or cutting) are broad and obvious to a skilled team.<\/span><\/div>
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Both patents were found invalid for lack of novelty and obviousness. However, Meade also concluded that if the patents were valid, PMI's IQOS product would infringe them.<\/span><\/div>
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Tobacco giants have been embroiled in intellectual property disputes for years.<\/span><\/div>
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In 2018, PMI filed a complaint against BAT regarding the launch of heated tobacco products in Japan. PMI claimed that certain technical features of BAT's Glo device infringed on two of PMI's Japanese patents.<\/span><\/div>
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In May 2020, BAT's RJ Reynolds subsidiary filed lawsuits against PMI in the U.S. and Germany, claiming that IQOS's heated tobacco technology infringed patents related to aerosol systems.<\/span><\/div>
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In June 2020, PMI counterclaimed, stating that RJ Reynolds' aerosol products infringed multiple patents owned by PMI and its U.S. partner Altria Client Services and Philip Morris USA.<\/span><\/div>
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These patents are currently also under dispute in Germany.<\/span><\/div>
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EP3398460<\/span><\/div>
Patent details: https://data.epo.org/publication-server/document?iDocId=5978775&iFormat=2<\/span><\/div>
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EP3491944<\/span><\/div>
Patent details: https://data.epo.org/publication-server/document?iDocId=6255128&iFormat=2<\/span><\/div>
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