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Tag: Juul

  • USITC Launches Probe Following Juul Complaint

    USITC Launches Probe Following Juul Complaint

    The U.S. International Trade Commission instituted a Section 337 investigation after a complaint filed by Juul Labs, Inc. and VMR Products LLC alleging patent infringement involving certain vaporizer devices, cartridges, and related components. The complaint, filed on September 30 and supplemented in November and December, asserts infringement of two U.S. patents—Nos. 11,134,722 and 11,606,981—through the importation and sale of the accused products in the United States. The investigation covers ENDS devices, pods, and components such as atomizers and subassemblies.

    Juul and VMR, both based in Washington, D.C., are seeking a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders. The named respondents are Glas, Inc. and Glas, LLC of Los Angeles. The USITC said its Office of Unfair Import Investigations will not participate in the case.

  • Alaska Settles 2020 Suit with Juul, Altria for $7.8M  

    Alaska Settles 2020 Suit with Juul, Altria for $7.8M  

    The State of Alaska has reached a $5.8 million settlement with Juul over allegations that the company marketed vaping products to minors, bringing total recoveries in the case to $7.8 million, including a prior settlement with Altria. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused the companies of designing and promoting products in ways that appealed to children and teenagers.

    Under the agreement, payments from Juul will be made over five years, with the first installment due this month. Settlement terms also impose court-enforceable marketing restrictions in Alaska.

    Half of the settlement funds will support Alaska’s tobacco prevention and control programs, with the remainder directed to state consumer protection efforts.

  • Altria, NJOY Sue U.S. ITC for ‘Unconstitutional’ Process Amid Juul Patent Fight

    Altria, NJOY Sue U.S. ITC for ‘Unconstitutional’ Process Amid Juul Patent Fight

    Altria Group Inc. and its NJOY vaping subsidiary filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Virginia on November 7, challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC) administrative law judge (ALJ) appointment process. According to Bloomberg Law, the companies argue that ITC ALJs are “inferior officers” who must be appointed by the president, a court, or a department head — not by the ITC chair alone — as required by the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and Article II.

    Altria and NJOY further contend that the agency’s removal protections for ALJs violate the separation of powers and that the ITC’s adjudicative process deprives them of their Article III and Seventh Amendment rights to a jury trial. The suit seeks to block a pending ITC patent case brought by Juul Labs Inc.

    Juul’s complaint, originally filed in June 2023, accused NJOY of importing and selling vaping devices that infringe four Juul vaporizer patents. On January 29, 2025, the ITC issued a final determination finding that NJOY’s products infringed the asserted patents and imposed a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders against NJOY and Altria. Those orders were set to take effect March 31, 2025, unless overturned by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

    In parallel, Altria and NJOY launched their own ITC action against Juul, but the commission terminated that case on March 3, 2025, ruling that Juul did not infringe the patents asserted by Altria.

  • Juul Secures Permanent IP Injunction in UK

    Juul Secures Permanent IP Injunction in UK

    Juul Labs won a permanent intellectual property injunction in the UK High Court, converting temporary measures from 2019 into lasting legal protection. The ruling bars four Chinese companies — Greensun Technology, Ouch, Gaish, and Airsmo Tech — from infringing on Juul’s trademarks, product designs, and patents.

    The court said the defendants ignored proceedings and prior orders, failing to respond to Juul or provide required witness statements. The decision mandates the destruction of existing infringing products and publication of the ruling on the companies’ websites.

    Juul said the injunction is a key milestone in its global IP enforcement efforts, ensuring its products and designs remain protected in the UK market and reinforcing its rights against unauthorized competitors.

  • Juul Aims for Comeback with Adult-Focused Vape Device

    Juul Aims for Comeback with Adult-Focused Vape Device

    Juul Labs is attempting a comeback, refocusing on its original mission of helping adult smokers transition away from cigarettes. Investor James Sagan of Architect Capital, who invested in Juul in 2023, told NYNext, “Everybody kind of thought Juul was dead and evil. But the early investors and founders have poured a bunch of capital back into the company to save it.”

    Central to the revival is Juul2, a new vaping device. Users who age-verify as 21+ can access an optional smartphone app. Juul founders James Monsees and Adam Bowen initially developed the technology at Stanford to provide an alternative to cigarettes. The company has undergone a reset to steer the company back toward harm reduction while preventing underage use.

    The device is currently awaiting regulatory approval in the U.S.; it’s already for sale, in the UK.

    “We’re all of the belief that Juul is a mission-driven company tackling the most important public health problem,” Sagan said. “That truth will reveal itself at some point in time.”

  • Lenders Move to Sell Debt on Juul’s San Francisco Office Tower

    Lenders Move to Sell Debt on Juul’s San Francisco Office Tower

    Lenders are reportedly preparing to sell debt tied to Juul Labs’ San Francisco office tower at 123 Mission Street, a move that could pave the way for new ownership of the downtown property, according to the San Francisco Business Journal. According to multiple sources, Affinius Capital is in talks to sell the debt to Madison Capital, though no agreement has been finalized and pricing details remain unclear. Juul and Affinius both declined to comment, but sources suggest the deal could position Madison to eventually take control of the property, depending on the loan’s performance and structure.

    The Journal said the 123 Mission tower has had a turbulent ownership history since Juul purchased it in 2019 for $397 million, during the company’s rapid expansion, and then subsequent challenges as the market changed under regulatory uncertainty. After relocating its headquarters to Washington, D.C. in 2020, the company reportedly made several unsuccessful attempts to sell the building, including deals with PGIM and Pimco, both of which fell through amid the pandemic.

    If completed, the pending transaction would mark another major San Francisco acquisition for Madison Capital, which has invested nearly $800 million in the Bay Area over the past eight years.

  • Senators Demand Answers from FDA Over Juul Approval

    Senators Demand Answers from FDA Over Juul Approval

    A coalition of Democratic U.S. senators is pressing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for answers after it issued marketing granted orders (MGOs) for Juul e-cigarettes. Led by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, the group—also including Senators Richard Blumenthal, Tammy Baldwin, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Jack Reed, Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren—sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary last week expressing deep concern over the agency’s reversal of prior marketing denial orders (MDOs) issued to Juul Labs Inc. in 2022.

    The lawmakers cited potential conflicts of interest, pointing to ties between former Trump administration officials and Juul’s lobbying efforts. They also highlighted Juul’s $1.1 billion settlement with 48 states over allegations of youth-targeted marketing.

    “We are deeply troubled by the appearance of conflicts of interest between the Trump administration and the e-cigarette industry in the United States,” the senators wrote, requesting detailed responses to their questions by August 22.

    The FDA has not yet responded publicly to the letter.

  • FDA Authorizes Juul E-Cigarettes in Tobacco and Menthol Flavors

    FDA Authorizes Juul E-Cigarettes in Tobacco and Menthol Flavors

    Today (July 17), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing granted orders (MGOs) for Juul Labs’ original e-cigarette device and refill cartridges in tobacco and menthol flavors.

    As part of its 2020 application, Juul submitted over 110 scientific studies to FDA covering nonclinical, clinical, and behavioral science. Following rigorous evaluation of the data, FDA decided that an MGO for the Juul System was “appropriate for the protection of public health” – the standard required by statute for authorization.

    “Today’s FDA authorization of Juul products marks an important step toward making the cigarette obsolete,” company CEO K.C. Crosthwaite said in a statement. “More than 2 million adult Americans have switched completelyaway from deadly cigarettes using Juul products. Meanwhile, underage use of our products is down 98% since 2019, to one-half of one percent of youth. 

    “We strongly support FDA’s role in regulating tobacco and nicotine products. Americans who use nicotine deserve an orderly, reliable market in which they can confidently choose from a wide array of smokefree nicotine products that are high-quality, innovative, backed by rigorous research, made in FDA-inspected manufacturing facilities, and marketed and sold responsibly.”

    The approval marks a major reversal after the FDA banned Juul’s products in 2022, citing concerns over public health. That decision was quickly stayed following an appeal by the company and formally rescinded in June 2024. During this time, Juul products remained on the market.

    “The decision follows wider expectations in the industry that the Trump Administration would ease regulatory hurdles for launching new vapes and other smoking alternatives,” Emma Rumney wrote for Reuters. “Some companies have seen FDA applications for new nicotine products languish for years or, like Juul, faced rejections that were challenged in court.”

    The approval breathes new life into Juul, which had faced regulatory roadblocks and financial turmoil after the initial ban. It also potentially signals a broader shift in FDA oversight, as the agency faces growing pressure over delays in product reviews and the proliferation of unauthorized nicotine products in the market. Juul’s authorization is seen as a potential bellwether for other pending applications in the vaping industry, the WSJ suggested.

  • Juul Cleared in Patent Dispute with Altria

    Juul Cleared in Patent Dispute with Altria

    The U.S. International Trade Commission affirmed a judge’s decision exculpating Juul in an infringement case brought by Altria-owned NJOY over several vaping patents. In January, Administrative Law Judge Doris Johnson Hines found that Juul did not violate Section 337 of the Tariff Act by importing vaping products, which Altria claimed was an infringement on two patents covering vaping technologies.

    In a three-page decision, the ITC reviewed the noninfringement finding to revise a citation in the judge’s initial determination that concluded NJOY “did not satisfy the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement, which requires the complainant to show that it has made significant investment in products protected by the patent,” Theresa Schliep wrote for Law 360.

    Concerning the economic prong, the ITC took “no position on these findings,” the decision said, and the ITC declined to review the remainder of the decision, including the judge’s conclusion that Juul did not violate Section 337.

    The Juul products the ITC investigated were “electronic nicotine delivery systems” and the cartridges or pods that go with them, as well as the pieces that make up the pods, such as “atomizers, subassemblies, devices subassemblies, [and] chargers,” according to court filings.

  • Judge Seals Docs in Juul Case

    Judge Seals Docs in Juul Case

    On Tuesday (Feb. 25), a federal judge in North Carolina granted requests by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and Philip Morris’ parent company, Altria, to seal documents in their ongoing royalty dispute, keeping details of their licensing agreements with the vape brand JUUL confidential.

    “The court ruled that the agreements contained sensitive business information — including financial terms, licensing strategies and negotiation details — that could harm competitive standing, and all six motions to seal were granted,” Andrea Keckley wrote for Law360.

    The court found that an amendment to a licensing agreement between Altria and JUUL and a copy of a licensing agreement between the two were confidential and that disclosing them would “harm the party’s competitive standing or otherwise harm its business interests.” The filings stem RJR’s bid for relief against a $95 million judgement after a jury sided with Altria in a 2022 patent infringement case. The defense has argued that it should receive relief because a deal with Juul sublicensed the asserted patents.

    “Ultimately, however, this court need not decide whether the documents or hearing are protected by the First Amendment’s right of access, because even assuming the First Amendment standard applies, movants have put forth compelling interests in sealing the order and the proposed sealing is narrowly tailored such that the First Amendment right of access has been overcome,” U.S. District Judge William Lindsay Osteen Jr wrote. “Although this court has considered less drastic alternatives to sealing, the parties have already redacted their filings so as to allow public access to as much information as possible without compromising sensitive business information,” he wrote. “It is this court’s view that the parties’ proposed redactions reflect the least drastic alternative at this time.”