By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Juul Labs has asked an Arizona federal judge to block Altria and NJOY from using UCSF-uploaded records.
- Altria/NJOY oppose the request, accusing Juul of trying to shield evidence that it misled the USPTO.
- The dispute is part of a broader patent infringement fight involving ENDS technology litigation in federal court and at the U.S. ITC.
Juul Labs Inc. has asked a federal judge in Arizona to prohibit Altria Group Inc. and its NJOY subsidiary from using records that Juul says were inadvertently published in a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) database, arguing that the documents could undermine its patent claims for its nicotine-salt e-cigarettes.
In filings submitted Dec. 24 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Juul requested a protective order to block discovery and use of the records by Altria and NJOY in ongoing litigation, according to a joint discovery dispute statement. Juul says the documents were mistakenly uploaded to a public UCSF repository, raising concerns about confidentiality and potential harm to its patent rights.
Altria and NJOY opposed Juul’s motion. In their response, NJOY accused Juul of trying to conceal evidence that it misled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), according to the parties’ document. The dispute is part of broader patent litigation between Juul and NJOY/Altria over vaping technology.
The underlying case, filed in August in Arizona federal court, alleges that NJOY products and related Altria units infringe one or more of Juul’s U.S. patents covering vaping devices and components. The complaint is part of ongoing intellectual property disputes between the two companies, including actions before the United States International Trade Commission and in federal courts.
The protective order motion underscores the parties’ broader struggle over the litigation’s scope and the confidentiality of technical and proprietary materials, issues common in high-stakes patent disputes in the vaping industry.
