According to a report from Reuters on December 19, the British American Tobacco subsidiary Reynolds Tobacco (R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.) failed to overturn a jury's ruling in North Carolina, USA that its Vuse Alto e-cigarette infringed on three e-cigarette patents belonging to Altria (Altria Group Inc.). The compensation awarded amounts to a staggering $95.2 million. The appeals court rejected Reynolds Tobacco's lawsuit.
Altria, based in Richmond, Virginia, filed a lawsuit against Reynolds Tobacco in 2020, accusing the company of infringing on a patent for an e-cigarette device that features a pod for storing and heating liquid nicotine. Altria is seeking damages from Reynolds Tobacco for infringing on the patent used in their Vuse Alto e-cigarette sales.
In 2022, the jury agreed to Altria's request and awarded them $95.2 million in compensation for patent infringement by Reynolds Tobacco. Subsequently, Reynolds Tobacco argued in the federal appellate court that their products did not infringe on the patent, the patent was invalid, and the compensation amount was too high.
On Thursday, a panel of three federal appellate court judges rejected Reynolds Tobacco's arguments. U.S. Circuit Judge William Bryson stated in a partial dissent that unless Altria agrees to waive "approximately half" of the damages, he will grant Reynolds Tobacco's request for a new trial on compensatory damages.
Spokespersons and attorneys for Reynolds Tobacco and Altria have not yet responded to this decision.
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