US Federal Judge Increases Damages in E-Cigarette Patent Case

According to Bloomberg Law, on August 17th, U.S. Federal Judge Leonie M. Brinkema modified a ruling made on June 15th by the Eastern District Court of Virginia in a patent infringement case involving an electronic cigarette product. The amounts awarded for pre-judgment interest and supplemental damages were increased. Per the ruling, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. owes PMI more than $14 million, with $10.9 million for infringement of one patent and $3.16 million for infringement of another.

In the verdict on June 15th, the jury found that Reynolds' Vuse Solo and Alto devices infringed on two patents of Pharma International, which involved heating substances and parts of vaping devices that prevent leakage. At the same time, the jury also ruled that Vuse Alto infringed on another patent.

The verdict pertains to a countersuit filed by Philip Morris International in an ongoing patent litigation involving Reynolds' IQOS heated tobacco device. In November of last year, Reynolds secured an order from the US International Trade Commission blocking the import of IQOS. Earlier this year, however, Philip Morris secured a victory in a US Patent Office court, which ruled that certain patents alleged by Reynolds to have been infringed were invalid.

Reynolds' parent company, BAT, has filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris regarding the IQOS product in the UK, Germany, and elsewhere. In the first half of this year, PMI filed a document with the US Securities and Exchange Commission stating that IQOS patent lawsuits and challenges outside the US have repeatedly failed. Altria has also separately sued Reynolds for patent infringement regarding the Vuse line in North Carolina.

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