Philip Morris and BAT’s Nicoventures Win EPO Appeal to Revoke VMR Vape Patent

Key Points

• Patent revoked at appeal stage

On 11 November 2025, EPO Board of Appeal 3.2.02 set aside the Opposition Division’s earlier interlocutory decision and revoked European Patent No. 3613453 (“VAPORIZER”), owned by VMR Products LLC. The case number is T 1319/24. The Board concluded none of the proprietor’s requests could maintain the patent.

• YouTube video accepted as prior art

The Board identified “D3” as a YouTube video uploaded on 28 June 2012 showing the Innokin iTaste VV device. It ruled that D3 belongs to the state of the art and can be used for novelty assessment under Article 54 EPC.

• Electrical contact placement already disclosed

The Board found that the iTaste VV’s “continuous external metal wall” starting at the base of the chamber constituted a battery electrical contact located at the base end, as claimed in EP3613453. It held that the exact position where the second contacts meet is irrelevant.

• Heating element and mouthpiece arguments rejected

VMR argued that D3 failed to disclose a heating unit and a mouthpiece extending from the insertion end. The Board rejected both arguments, reasoning that a resistance-based vaporizer inherently implies a heating element, and that the video configuration fell within the claimed meaning.

• Victory for Philip Morris and BAT subsidiary

Nicoventures Trading Ltd and Philip Morris Products S.A., who opposed the patent, succeeded in having it revoked. The ruling strengthens their freedom-to-operate position in the European vape market.

2Firsts, February 17, 2026

According to Law360, Philip Morris Products S.A. and Nicoventures Trading Ltd., a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), have succeeded in revoking a European vape patent owned by VMR Products LLC, following a decision by the European Patent Office (EPO) Board of Appeal.

According to publicly available EPO records, Technical Board of Appeal 3.2.02 issued its decision on 11 November 2025 in case T 1319/24. The Board set aside the Opposition Division’s earlier decision and ordered the revocation of European Patent No. 3613453, titled “VAPORIZER.”

The case centered on whether the patent’s claimed electrical contact arrangement was novel. The Board examined prior art identified as “D3,” a YouTube video uploaded on 28 June 2012 demonstrating the Innokin iTaste VV device.

The Board determined that D3 belonged to the state of the art under Article 54 EPC. It found that the iTaste VV’s structure included a “continuous external metal wall” beginning at the base of the chamber. This structure was held to correspond to the claimed feature requiring a battery electrical contact located at the base end of the chamber.

Importantly, the Board concluded that it was “irrelevant where exactly the second electrical contact of the cartomizer contacts the second battery electrical contact,” undermining VMR’s argument for novelty based on contact positioning.

VMR also contended that the video did not disclose a heating element inside the cartomizer. The Board disagreed, reasoning that a resistance-based vaporizer inherently implies the presence of a heating unit. Additionally, the Board rejected VMR’s argument that the required mouthpiece configuration was not disclosed, finding that the configuration shown in the video fell within the general meaning of the claimed expression.

As a result, all of VMR’s amendment requests failed, and the patent was revoked in full.

The decision marks a significant win for Nicoventures and Philip Morris Products S.A., reinforcing the importance of publicly accessible online materials—such as product demonstration videos—as potential prior art in European patent proceedings.

(Cover image: Youtube)