On December 18, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) announced that it had decided not to modify, rescind, or overturn the decision of the presiding Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) concerning the preliminary determination denying RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc. and its affiliated companies' request for temporary relief (known as "ID," or Order No. 28). This decision means that the temporary exclusion order and cease and desist order sought by RAI regarding the import and sale of certain disposable e-cigarette devices and their components were not approved.
The investigation was filed by the British-American tobacco subsidiary Reynolds Tobacco on July 22, 2024, alleging that the importation and sale of certain disposable e-cigarette devices and components by 35 companies violated its US Patent No. 11,925,202. The companies under investigation include several from China, Hong Kong, and the United States.
Reynolds Tobacco has filed a complaint and simultaneously applied for a temporary restraining order and injunction in an attempt to prevent these products from entering or continuing to be sold in the US market during the investigation.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has accepted the case and assigned an administrative law judge to conduct the investigation. However, due to the complexity of the case, the commission deemed the interim relief program as a "complicated" matter on July 29, 2024. Some defendant companies such as Kimsun and Bidi Vapor have ended the investigation by reaching a consent decree, but several defendants have not appeared in response to the lawsuit.
On November 19, 2024, an administrative judge issued a temporary restraining order ("TEO"), denying Reynolds Tobacco's request for temporary relief. The ruling stated:
The claims of patent infringement lack a likelihood of success.
There is a significant dispute over the validity of the patent.
The plaintiff failed to prove that not seeking redress would result in irreparable harm.
Renault subsequently submitted a comment document, but stated that they will not seek a reconsideration of the ruling by the commission.
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