Reynolds American Inc. has achieved a legal victory in a case involving e-cigarette technology that was being reviewed by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the organization ruled on September 8th that 13 disputed patent claims of Philip Morris Products SA regarding the "556" patent were deemed "unpatentable.
RJ Reynolds Vapor Co., along with RAI Innovations Co., RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co., and Reynolds Asia-Pacific Ltd., has jointly challenged Philip Morris' patent.
The board of directors held a hearing on July 7th. A panel composed of three judges stated that this was their final written decision on the matter.
According to the ruling, Patent No. 556 is dedicated to the pod of an aerosol generation system, particularly an electric smoking system.
Reynolds' accusation is based on the patent law's obviousness clause.
According to Berks IP law firm, "When a patent is obvious, it means that ordinary skilled persons in the field would know how to combine two or more existing technical references to disclose each aspect of the patent claims.
Philip Morris International (PMI) stated in a press release that they are reviewing the decision and considering their next possible actions, as the decision may be subject to an appeal.
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