Tobacco Giant Sues Rivals Over Patents for Cigarette Alternatives
April 09 2020 - 5:49PM
Dow Jones News
By Jennifer Maloney
British American Tobacco PLC is suing two of its biggest rivals,
alleging the IQOS tobacco heating device developed by Philip Morris
International Inc. and sold by Altria Group Inc. infringes on its
U.S. patents.
The move is the latest volley in a fight among cigarette giants
to grab share in the growing market for smoking alternatives. It
follows a similar suit filed two years ago by Philip Morris against
BAT in Japan.
The product in question is a hand-held device that heats tobacco
sticks without burning them. Marlboro maker Altria launched IQOS in
the U.S. last year through a partnership with Philip Morris
International, after it became the first heated tobacco device
authorized for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is
currently sold in Atlanta and Richmond, Va., as well as in dozens
of other countries around the world.
BAT has a heated tobacco device called Glo, in addition to
cigarette brands such as Newport, Camel and Lucky Strike.
BAT's U.S. e-cigarette business filed a complaint in federal
court in Virginia Thursday, alleging that some features of IQOS
infringe on patents BAT holds in the U.S. for a vaporizer charging
case, a tobacco-containing smoking device and a control body. BAT
said it had also filed a patent infringement complaint with the
International Trade Commission.
Tobacco companies are in a technology race to provide consumers
with the best smoking alternative, and patents are playing an
important role, Simon Cleverly, BAT's group head of corporate
affairs, said in a statement. "Given the significant investment we
have made in developing our products, we simply cannot allow
competitors to use our patented innovations and technology in their
devices without a license."
Philip Morris and Altria Thursday said they would vigorously
defend themselves. Philip Morris, which sells Marlboros outside the
U.S., has invested $7 billion over the past two decades to develop
smoking alternatives, a spokesman said.
Philip Morris in 2018 filed a similar suit against BAT, alleging
that some features of BAT'S Glo device infringed on technologies
covered by Philip Morris's Japanese patents. That case is still
ongoing in the Japanese court, a Philip Morris spokesman said
Thursday.
Saabira Chaudhuri contributed to this article.
Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 09, 2020 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)
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