Key points
- The UK High Court has granted U.S. vape maker Juul Labs a permanent injunction against four Chinese companies accused of patent and trademark infringement.
- The defendants — Greensun Technology, Ouch, Gaish, and Airsmo Tech — failed to respond to any court communications or orders since 2019.
- The injunction orders the destruction of all infringing products and requires the companies to publish the case outcome on their websites.
- Juul’s case was delayed for years due to lack of cooperation and procedural stays, but the court ultimately ruled in its favor.
- The ruling marks a major victory for Juul in its global intellectual property enforcement efforts.
According to a ruling by the UK High Court on October 29, vape manufacturer Juul Labs has won a long-running intellectual property dispute, with the court converting temporary injunctions issued in December 2019 into permanent ones. The ruling prohibits four Chinese companies from infringing on Juul’s trademarks, product designs, and patents.
The companies involved — Greensun Technology, Ouch, Gaish, and Airsmo Tech — are registered in mainland China and Hong Kong. Juul first discovered the infringing products at a UK trade show in 2019 and promptly sought interim injunctions. Over the following years, none of the four defendants responded to Juul’s communications, court orders, or any related legal documents.
Presiding Judge Timothy Fancourt stated that the defendants had “completely ignored the proceedings” and violated earlier court orders requiring them to submit witness statements detailing their infringing activities in the UK. Juul said that although the companies failed to engage, their infringing products were withdrawn from the UK market following the temporary injunction — indicating that the orders were effective.
Juul’s legal team noted that the lack of cooperation from the defendants led to delays in the case. Under UK civil procedure rules, a claim is automatically stayed if neither party takes action within six months. In addition, Juul had planned to consolidate the four cases, but its claim against Greensun was delayed for nearly four years due to administrative issues with Chinese authorities, further slowing the process.
The court’s latest decision not only prohibits the companies from supplying infringing products to the UK market in the future but also orders the destruction of existing infringing goods and requires the defendants to publish a notice of the ruling on their websites.
This case marks another significant step in Juul’s global intellectual property enforcement campaign. Although the defendants did not take part in the proceedings, the court upheld Juul’s claims of infringement, reaffirming the company’s trademark and patent protections in the UK market.
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