Tag: Fuma International

  • Reynolds Settles Vuse Patent Suit Before Trial

    Reynolds Settles Vuse Patent Suit Before Trial

    Photo: RAI

    R.J. Reynolds (RJR) has settled Fuma International’s claims that Reynold’s Vuse products infringed on the manufacturer’s e-cigarette patents, reports Reuters. RJR settled the suit just four days before the trial was slated to begin, according to a Thursday filing in North Carolina federal court.

    U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles found in May that RJR’s products infringed parts of two Fuma patents. A jury in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, was set to consider on Nov. 15 whether RJR infringed additional parts of one of the patents, whether the patents were valid, and what damages RJR owed, among other things.

    Fuma sued in 2019 for infringing patents related to an e-cigarette design with a cartridge and power source. The complaint said RJR copied Fuma’s design after meeting with Fuma about its e-cigarette technology in 2010.

    Fuma asked for up to $135 million in damages, according to court filings.

    Vuse is one of the most popular e-cigarette brands in the U.S. RJR introduced the Vuse Solo in 2013 and the Vuse Ciro in 2017. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave RJR permission to market Solo in October, its first-ever authorization for a vaping product.

    The tobacco giant argued the relevant parts of the patents were invalid based on prior art that disclosed the same design, according to Reuters. Details of the settlement weren’t immediately available.

  • Court: Vuse Infringes on Fuma Patents

    Court: Vuse Infringes on Fuma Patents

    Photo: R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co.

    R.J. Reynolds (RJR) Vapor Co.’s Vuse Solo and Ciro e-cigarettes infringe patents owned by Fuma International, a federal court in North Carolina ruled, according to Reuters.

    Fuma sued RJR in 2019 for infringing two of its patents that outline types of e-cigarettes made of a cartridge and power source.

    U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles found that the products included two of the disputed elements and infringed both patents but that the question of whether they included the third element should go to trial.

    The Vuse Solo has one of the patent’s “electrically conductive portion” that couples the cartridge to the power source, and the Vuse Ciro has a type of airflow passageway featured in both patents, Eagles said.

    However, the third disputed element—whether the Solo has the “electrically conductive threaded portion” from a Fuma patent—will be decided at trial. RJR provided enough evidence to show that the relevant part of its device may not be “threaded” under the patent’s definition, according to Eagles.

    RJR spokesperson Kaelan Hollon told Reuters that the company “looks forward to proving at trial that the Fuma patents are invalid” and that Solo doesn’t infringe the part of the patent still at issue.

    Vuse is one of the most popular e-cigarette brands in the United States.

    Earlier this month, a judge ruled that Philip Morris International’s IQOS tobacco-heating device infringes two Vuse Vibe and Vuse Solo patents. That case will likely be reviewed by the full International Trade Commission.