Philip Morris International (PMI) is suing British American Tobacco (BAT) in Japan for infringement of the patent for IQOS, claiming the rival company has copied the heat-not-burn (HnB) technology for its own Glo device.
In the first legal battle over a patent between the tobacco giants in the new sector, PMI is calling for sales of Glo to be halted in Japan and claiming damages of JP100m ($880,000).
The suit was filed at Tokyo District Court on 22nd June and the initial hearing held on 2nd August, when BAT called for the case to be dismissed.
Access to technical details of the claimed patent infringement has been restricted at the request of PMI on the grounds that they contain sensitive technical information.
