European Patent Office Upholds PMI E-Cigarette Power System Patent

Key points:

1. The European Patent Office has ruled that Philip Morris International (PMI) retains the patent for the e-cigarette power supply system.

2. The British American Tobacco subsidiary Nicoventures claims that PMI's patent involves old technology, but their claim was rejected.

3. The European Patent Office states that PMI products have a unique structural design.

According to a report by Tobaccoreporter on March 6th, Nicoventures, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), filed an opposition to a specific e-cigarette patent from Philip Morris International (PMI). However, the European Patent Office rejected the opposition, allowing PMI to retain the patent.

Nicoventures was established by British American Tobacco in 2010, focusing on the development and commercialization of non-tobacco nicotine products approved by regulatory authorities.

This patent primarily describes a power supply system for an e-cigarette device, including sensors and sensor brackets for regulating airflow and accommodating power sources.

Nicoventures claims that the patent is not novel, as its "Vuse Solo" product has already utilized similar functions in three old patents. BAT stated that some components in these old patents are functionally similar to the PMI sensor bracket.

The European Patent Office's Appeals Committee upheld a previous ruling in a decision announced on the 5th, rejecting Nicoventures' opposition on February 20th. The reason given was that PMI's power source design features a unique structure.

The Technical Board of Appeal stated that they agree with PMI's viewpoint, believing that the structure of the e-cigarette devices in the old invention is not the same as the patent.

In addition, PMI also pointed out that Nicoventures has failed to demonstrate that the "Vuse Solo" was already known to the public before applying for the patent, therefore Nicoventures cannot argue that its design is "not novel".