Philip Morris USA has filed lawsuits against two cigarette importers for alleged counterfeiting and unauthorised use of the Marlboro trademark.

Philip Morris filed separate federal suits in the Eastern District of New York against C.H. Rhodes and U.S. Sun Star Trading Inc., both of New York.
The suits come after U.S. Customs and Border Protection confiscated about 16,450 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes in separate incidents when Rhodes and Sun Star were the respective importers of record.
The Richmond-based company is asking the court in both cases to ban the parties from purchasing, importing, distributing or selling counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes. It is also asking for the parties to turn over their profits from the illegal cigarettes along with punitive damages and attorney's fees.
Over the last few years, the federal government and many state governments have increased taxes on cigarettes, raising their overall prices. So-called "grey market" vendors typically import cigarettes intended for foreign markets and sell them to consumers more cheaply than domestic products because they are untaxed. (pi)