Imperial Tobacco sues nine US e-cig makers, claims Dragonite patent violations

[Bill Godshall]

Imperial tobacco sues nine US e-cig makers, claims Dragonite patent violations
Imperial Tobacco share price: Tobacco giant files lawsuit against US e-cigarette makers


This was anticipated when Imperial bought Dragonite (formerly Ruyan) for $75 million, as Dragonite's only potentially valuable assets were its patents.

Looks like Imperial tobacco has joined the ranks of patent trolls.

 

[AgentAnia]

Bill, any thoughts on how this is going to play out?

 

[DrMA]

This is very disconcerting...

 

[sonicdsl]

Absolutely disgusting behavior... as if there aren't enough problems facing ecig companies right now!

 

[Kent C]

"Patent troll" has several definitions. One is that the company trolling has a patent but is not manufacturing the product. This is not the case with Imperial as they sell the Puritane ecigarette:

http://www.puritane.co.uk/product

However, the international patent that was obtained by Hon Lik from Ruyan/later Dragonite may become an issue, as most here know that an American, Herbert Gilbert created an ecig in the 60's - @40 years before Hon Lik, but Gilbert's ecig never was produced for the market. Also the cartomizer that is used in Puritane wasn't part of the original Ruyan product. I would guess that these facts will come out and how they'll be decided is anyone's guess.

GE holds the patent for Edison's light bulb, but it's been through many hands since it was invented. So 'patent-holding' companies are not unusual. It only creates concern when they are not manufacturing the product, which Imperial, now, is.

 

[FourWinds]

Puritane e-cigs. Man that name made me laugh.

 

[trying]

There is a closed tread from 2011 that covers a patent lawsuit filed by Dragonite against many of the same companies with the claim of infringement of the same patent which Imperial tobacco purchased from Dragonite/Ruyan.
The Dragonite infringement case was unresolved at the time of Imperial tobacco's purchase.

 

[Kent C]

There is a closed tread from 2011 that covers a patent lawsuit filed by Dragonite against many of the same companies with the claim of infringement of the same patent which Imperial tobacco purchased from Dragonite/Ruyan.
The Dragonite infringement case was unresolved at the time of Imperial tobacco's purchase.

Interesting. Thanks for posting...

 

[Jimi D.]

LOL The cloning wars have begun !

 

[YKruss]

There is a closed tread from 2011 that covers a patent lawsuit filed by Dragonite against many of the same companies with the claim of infringement of the same patent which Imperial tobacco purchased from Dragonite/Ruyan.
The Dragonite infringement case was unresolved at the time of Imperial tobacco's purchase.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/186601-patient-infringment.html#post3179692

 

[ch2468]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the original Dragonite patents mention the use of a piezoelectric atomizer? If that's the case, nobody actually uses that design, so their case should be moot, right?

 

[sonicdsl]

https://www.google.com/patents/US8156944?dq=dragonite&ei=Ky8lU42OCOm62wWvpYDoCw

Seems like this only pertains to cig-a-likes, but IANAL.

 

[ennagizer]

It's all about the money, right? I'm thinking if the patents & lawsuit have any teeth the ecig companies will look to settle with Imperial who will get a piece of the action with some sort of licensing deal.

 

[DC2]

A number of companies settled with Dragonite, including Blu...
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ves-u-s-patent-blu-cig-settles-dragonite.html

 

[Sirius]

https://www.google.com/patents/US8156944?dq=dragonite&ei=Ky8lU42OCOm62wWvpYDoCw

Seems like this only pertains to cig-a-likes, but IANAL.

The e-cigarette business, then, will probably end up much like the smartphone industry (whose miniature-battery technology helped make modern e-cigarettes possible): awash in patent-related lawsuits and counter-lawsuits. Taken together with restrictive and ill-conceived e-cigarette regulations proposed on both sides of the Atlantic, all this may slow growth and innovation in an industry that could greatly reduce the number of smoking-related deaths worldwide. Not exactly a win for anyone involved.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2014/03/e-cigarette-patent-wars

 

[rothenbj]

The e-cigarette business, then, will probably end up much like the smartphone industry (whose miniature-battery technology helped make modern e-cigarettes possible): awash in patent-related lawsuits and counter-lawsuits. Taken together with restrictive and ill-conceived e-cigarette regulations proposed on both sides of the Atlantic, all this may slow growth and innovation in an industry that could greatly reduce the number of smoking-related deaths worldwide. Not exactly a win for anyone involved.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2014/03/e-cigarette-patent-wars

As we've always known. it's all about the money.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

The money. I read an article that spoke of a group of European businessmen came to the States and realized that American workers are very over-worked as compared to European workers.

"How much can I squeeze out of my employees?"

Money is the root of all evil...

 

[rothenbj]

The money. I read an article that spoke of a group of European businessmen came to the States and realized that American workers are very over-worked as compared to European workers.

"How much can I squeeze out of my employees?"

Money is the root of all evil...

If you ever spent some time over there you'd understand and I have no idea what the work environment is like now in the US as the "do more with less" mentality seemed it keep increasing. I know most Europeans got a month vacation regardless of time spent with a company and I retired without ever reaching that..

 

[Kent C]

The money. I read an article that spoke of a group of European businessmen came to the States and realized that American workers are very over-worked as compared to European workers.

They obviously didn't visit a government facility.

And there's a good Cadillac commercial which pretty much says the same thing as you state.
The First Ever 2014 Cadillac ELR: Poolside - YouTube

"Money is the root of all evil... "

Money is just a symbol of production - of the mental and physical effort used to produce something of value, which then can be exchanged for something you want. Is that evil? Money is just easier than carrying around pigs, cloth, iron and other stuff.

And the actual quote is from the Bible "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." 1 Timothy 6:10. That's a bit different.

 

[rurwin]

I'm not sure if the patent could be made to apply to modern e-cigs. (I'm not a patent lawyer.) It seems to describe components in its independent claims that do not apply to any devices I own. I do know that to defend a patent law-suit costs of the order of $10M and that many parties settle out of court because doing otherwise would bankrupt them.

Going after the small companies first is standard practice. They settle quickly because they can't afford to fight. The aggressor then has the funds and the precedents to go after the larger companies. I don't see anything that suggests this is BT going after the non-BT companies. This is just the sly company making money out of their competitors.