Altria and Philip Morris International are no longer able to sell or import Iqos tobacco devices in the U.S. after the Biden administration opted to take no action on an ongoing patent dispute.
Rival R.J. Reynolds, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, had filed a claim with the U.S. International Trade Commission. In late September, the ITC ruled that the Iqos device infringed on two of Reynolds’ patents.
As part of the process, the Biden administration conducted a 60-day administrative review and decided to not take any action to reverse the ITC’s decision.
“Today’s announcement provides a measure of success for our enforcement of IP rights to ensure we can continue to innovate, as is common practice among innovation-based industries,” British American Tobacco Assistant General Counsel Gareth Cooper said in a statement.
Altria launched the Iqos device in the United States two years ago, but it began development of the product more than a decade ago before Philip Morris was spun off from the company. The device heats tobacco without burning it, which is meant to give users the same rush of nicotine without as many toxins as smoking a cigarette.
Amelia Lucas – 2021-11-30.
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