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STAR SCIENTIFIC, INC. v. R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY  

 CONCLUSION

For the reasons provided above, we reverse the district court's judgment of unenforceability of both asserted patents due to inequitable conduct. We also reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment of invalidity of all asserted claims due to indefiniteness and remand for further proceedings on the infringement complaint consistent with this opinion.

REVERSED and REMANDED

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Tobacco David wins a ruling against a Goliath  

A Petersburg-based company has won an appeal in a lengthy legal battle with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. over patents covering a process to reduce some cancer-causing toxins in tobacco.

The ruling yesterday by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit in Washington means the lawsuit brought by Star Scientific Inc. against the nation's second-largest cigarette maker is likely to go to trial, a Reynolds spokesman said.

Star, which sells smokeless tobacco products, sought millions of dollars in damages in the lawsuit, filed in 2001. It claimed that Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds had infringed Star's patents for a method designed to reduce carcinogens called tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which form during the curing of tobacco leaves.

The appeals court yesterday overturned a lower-court ruling in 2007 that declared the patents invalid. The appeals court sent the case back to U.S. District Court in Maryland.

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• Star Scientific Surges After Reynolds Suit Is Revived (Update2)  

Star Scientific Inc. rose the most in seven years after a U.S. appeals court revived the company's patent lawsuit against Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco over a formula for reducing carcinogens in tobacco.

Star climbed $1.09, or 65 percent, to $2.76 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, valuing the Petersburg, Virginia-based company at $254 million. The gain was the biggest since April 2001 and the closing price was the highest since Jan. 18, 2007. More than 7.25 million shares changed hands, 20 times the three-month daily average.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington ruled today that a judge was wrong to find two Star patents unenforceable and invalid, saying the decision was ``based on factual findings that we deem clearly erroneous.'' The panel sent the case back for review to determine whether the patents are infringed or invalid on other grounds.

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Star Scientific Reports on Second Quarter 

Star Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ:STSI) announced that it has filed its second-quarter financial report on Form 10-Q today with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Gross sales for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 totaled $167,483 compared with gross sales of $219,242 during the same period in 2007. Net sales for the second quarter totaled $52,176 as compared with $196,168 for second quarter 2007. Net sales were impacted in part by a decrease in unit sales volume and an increase in product discounts (placement fees) during the second quarter.

The company reported an operating loss of $6.29 million compared with $3.85 million for second quarter 2007. . . .

The company awaits a ruling on its appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in its patent infringement lawsuit against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company

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• Whitman couple patents a shorter smoke  

The Whitman couple have patented a deceptively simple idea for Steppin' Outs, a pack of 20 color-coded cigarettes in three different sizes.

The idea is that smokers can either gradually reduce their intake in order to quit, or those who don't can still have a two-minute butt break without wasting most of a cigarette.

"The more people we've told about them the more they said they liked the idea," said Dean Roberts . . .

The three sizes of Steppin' Outs would be green for regular-size cigarettes, yellow for mid-size cigarettes, and red for small cigarettes. A patented step-spacer separates the cigarettes according to size. . . .

It was one night over dinner and Keno that he and Michelle, who is the Abington Health Agent, talked at length why there shouldn't be cigarettes made in different sizes for smokers in a hurry.

They gave it even more thought, and in April 2004, they contacted the Invention Submission Corp., which conducts extensive background research on patent ideas to determine their novelty and sales potential.

The ISC looked as far back as the 1800s to see if anyone had come up with a similar idea.

Turns out nobody had. The ISC reported back to the Roberts with a top "A" rating for their patent idea.

On March 3, 2005, the Roberts filed an official patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and on May 27 this year -- coincidentally, Dean Robert's birthday -- the couple received a letter from the agency.

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• LETTER: Philip Morris-VCU Deal Is Not Unusual 

Criticism of VCU has appeared in the press recently concerning arrangements for publication of results from university research that has been supported by Philip Morris. Recognizing that it is popular in some quarters to blast big tobacco or big oil or big pharma, arrangements for delayed publication of research that may have commercial value is commonplace at all universities, for it is an essential step to protect patent rights. . . .

Congress realized that intellectual property owned by everyone was in fact owned by no one, and the subsequent development of that property for the benefit of us all would never occur. The Bayh-Dole Act ensured that intellectual property created with taxpayer dollars would be owned by the university, not by the government, and all issues of patenting and development and licensing are the responsibility of the university.

As incentive to the professor leading the research, the university pays a generous fraction of the income from licensing directly to the professor as additional personal income. The relationship between VCU and Philip Morris and other companies is to be applauded, for it contributes real value to our society and it inspires students.

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Beijing police nab fake Olympics cigarettes 

Beijing police detained seven people for producing and selling counterfeit cigarettes bearing the Beijing Olympic Games logo on the packaging, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.

Police confiscated 258 cartons of cigarettes and a large amount of packaging materials in a May 28 raid on a house in Chongwen district, in the southeast of the city.

More than 80 cartons had the brand names "Olympic Zhonghua" -- meaning "Olympic China" -- or "Olympic Beijing" and carried the Beijing Olympic logo

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Philip Morris USA Files Additional Lawsuits to Stop Importation of Counterfeit Cigarettes 

Philip Morris USA (PM USA) filed two lawsuits in federal court yesterday in Los Angeles, Ca., aimed at stopping the importation, distribution, and sale of counterfeit cigarettes and the unauthorized use of PM USA's trademarks.

The suits arise from two seizures by the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection at the Port of Los Angeles. Sorensen Lighted Controls of Hartford, Conn., was listed on Customs' Notice of Seizure as the importer of record of 47,378 cartons of counterfeit Marlboro® cigarettes, with a date of entry into the port of January 8, 2008. Similarly, Damakali S.A. de CV of Queretaro, Mexico, was named on a Customs' Notice of Seizure as the importer of 28,260 cartons of counterfeit Marlboro® and Marlboro® Lights cigarettes with a date of entry into the port of December 20, 2007.

Speaking on behalf of PM USA, Charlie Whitaker, vice president, Compliance and Brand Integrity for Altria Client Services said, "Importing and selling counterfeit cigarettes is illegal, and the Marlboro® brand is a frequent target of counterfeiters. These lawsuits are the latest in a series of actions that demonstrate our resolve to protecting PM USA's valuable trademarks."

PM USA pursues numerous strategies to address the sale of counterfeit, illegally imported, stolen and untaxed or under-taxed cigarettes.

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Booze, tobacco lobbies want tough penalties for smuggling 

Delegates called for more stringent penalties for violations while discussing a proposed decree regulating the production and trade of alcoholic and tobacco products at a meeting in Hanoi Friday.

At the meeting chaired by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, official agencies and companies said the fines proposed in the decree, ranging from VND200,000 to VND60 million (US$12.42-3,700), would fail to deter violators.

Violation of intellectual property rights (IPR) pertaining to invention, design, and brand name will incur the highest fine.

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To Promote New York, Handlers Take Steps to Reclaim ‘I ♥ NY’  

Last week, the state tourism board, Empire State Development, announced a retooled marketing campaign centered on the famed slogan and design, this time with an emphasis on gas-sipping day trips and short vacations for residents of the region.

But inherent in the campaign is a drive to reclaim the symbol itself, which, like the Playboy logo, has become devalued, as marketers term it, through overuse. . . .

"We have been reviewing anything found by our licensing agent," Mr. Ranese said. Undesirable products include ashtrays ($6.99) and cigarette lighters ($3.99) because the state wants to discourage smoking.

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• Electronic cigarettes get around indoor ban 

At least two companies are selling battery-powered cigarettes, cigars and pipes that attempt to replicate smoking without burning tobacco. The gizmos use nicotine cartridges and water vapor in what is essentially a nicotine inhaler complete with a light on the end. The invention gets around smoking bans like Colorado's, where smoking is prohibited in nearly all indoor public places.

The devices are not advertised as smoking cessation products like a nicotine patch or gum but rather as a way to satisfy the nicotine craving where smoking isn't allowed. One of the companies, Minneapolisbased Ruyan America Inc., says the products "allow users to effectively simulate the physiological and psychological attributes of smoking without creating any harmful secondhand smoke."

By not claiming to help people stop smoking, the companies have avoided regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.

Ruyan America Inc. produces the E-cigarette while another company, Crown7, produces a similar product called the Crown7. Ruyan claims to be the inventor of the electric smoking devices and is taking on competitors in a global patent dispute, said Chief Executive Officer Alex Chong.

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Philip Morris gets trade commission to open inquiry 

Philip Morris USA has persuaded a U.S. agency to investigate a complaint about unauthorized Internet sales of so-called gray-market cigarettes using the Marlboro and other company names.

The U.S. International Trade Commission, an agency that investigates claims of unfair trade practices, said yesterday that it would review a request by Philip Morris to bar imports of cigarettes that violate Philip Morris trademarks. The agency typically makes decisions within 15 months.

The cigarettes are called gray market because they are made by Philip Morris for sale overseas

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• US govt probes cigarette imports for violations vs Philip Morris USA patents 

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) today initiated an investigation into whether several Internet-based cigarette retailers are selling imported cigarettes in the US that violate patents held by Philip Morris (NYSE:MO) USA.

The ITC investigation was requested by Philip Morris in early March, and could result in an order to ban cigarettes from the US that are found to violate patents held by the company.

Any order issued as a result of the ITC investigation will become final 60 days after issuance unless overturned by the US Trade Representative's office.

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政协委员建议取消"中华""中南海"香烟品牌 

3月11日 ，出席全国政协十一届一次会议的政协委员、中国社科院研究员安家瑶在接受记者专访时表示，国家烟草专卖局应尽快调研，停止将“中华”、“中南海”等代表民族文化形象的词语作为烟草品牌。

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沈进进：烟盒上警示语至少覆盖1/3面积(图) 

吸烟的危害正为更多人所熟知的时候，我国的香烟产销量却仍在持续增加。昨日，全国人大代表、盐城市疾控中心副主任沈进进走进本报两会视频直播室再谈香烟流毒。沈进进认为，国家应尽快制定《控制烟草危害法》，烟盒上的警示语至少应覆盖包装1/3面积。

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