The EUIPO has ruled that Imiracle failed to demonstrate actual commercial use of its “Elfbar Crystal” brand in Slovakia, and therefore rejected in full the company’s opposition to Shenzhen SKE Technology’s application to register the “Crystal” trademark. The EUIPO noted that the sales records submitted by Imiracle were limited in scope and that the product packaging was in Ukrainian, which it found insufficient to prove that the products had been placed on the Slovak market.

The payoff is here: BAT’s Vuse has seized a rare regulatory vacuum to reverse its U.S. slide, capitalizing on a crackdown that seemingly compressed the illicit market to 54%. But the victory is fragile. A record $590 million export shock in October signals the gray market is striking back—pitting a fleeting compliance dividend against a massive inventory wall.

Nicoventures Trading Ltd., a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), has won an appeal at the European Patent Office (EPO), convincing the appellate board that examiners had violated its right to be heard by failing to review all of its submissions.

British American Tobacco (BAT) reaffirmed its 2026 guidance while announcing a £1.3 billion (approximately USD 1.65 billion) share buyback for FY26. The company expects around 2% growth in revenue and adjusted profit from operations for FY25. Accelerating New Category growth, driven by Velo Plus and improving U.S. Vuse performance, is expected to deliver double-digit H2 revenue growth.

Philip Morris International’s (PMI) nicotine pouch brand ZYN has launched an “X-Low” low-strength campaign in the UK, accelerating its push into the ultra-low nicotine pouch segment, with updated packaging and new flavours already rolled out in both the UK and the Philippines.