The UK high court has invalidated two British American Tobacco (BAT) patents for e-cigarettes citing that they lack an “inventive step” over existing PMI patents, reports WIPR.

BAT’s claims that Philip Morris International (PMI) had infringed its two “heat-not-burn” patents with its IQOS product line were dismissed by Justice Richard Meade, who ruled that the BAT patents were invalid.
Meade stated that the patents (UK 3,398,460,B1 and UK 3,491,944,B1) merely covered a method of getting reconstituted tobacco into a cigarette form, and all methods of which were very limited and would be obvious to a skilled team, reports WIPR. Thus, both patents were ruled invalid although Meade did say that had they been valid, PMI’s IQOS products would indeed have infringed them.
“Overall therefore I find that the step from Morgan to the claims of the Patents is no more than taking one of a very small number of obvious starting points, which would be seen to need a minor change and to replace it with an obvious form (gathered sheet) supported by the common general knowledge (CGK),” said Meade.
“Although BAT is pleased with the decision from the High Court of Justice (Patents Court) in London finding that two BAT patents (European Patent (UK) Nos. 3,398,460 and 3,491,944) are infringed by PMI’s IQOS system, BAT is disappointed with the Court’s decision that these patents are invalid,” stated a BAT spokesperson.