E-cigarette maker declares multi-front war against imports

E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc., has filed dozens of patent claims against makers of so-called "Juul compatible" vaping cartridges in recent days. These were accompanied by an action filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking a general exclusion order "barring the importation of any infringing, unauthorized, pod-based product designed to be used with the JUUL System."

The moves appear to serve a dual purpose of shielding Juul's business while also showing it is taking action to protect consumers. According to a July 10 news release from the San Francisco-headquartered company, if successful these actions would "effectively eliminate a sector of illicit products that seek to circumvent federal policy, can present additional health and safety risks to adult consumers, and undercut underage prevention measures."

Court records show Juul filed 21 federal complaints last week alone. Several of these appear to be against American subsidiaries or affiliates of Chinese companies. All told, the company has filed more than 300 cases this year, all or most in California's four federal districts.

A complaint Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP filed for Juul last Friday against Redding-based Shenzhen Azure Tech. USA LLC appears to be typical. It targets a line of products called Caesar Pods, billed as "Juul compatible" on various websites where e-cigarette cartridges are sold. The complaint alleges "willful, intentional" infringement of four patents granted in 2019. Juul Labs Inc., v. Shenzen Azure Tech. USA LLC, 2:20-cv-01402-TLN-DMC (E.D. Cal., filed July 10, 2020).

A contact with Shenzhen did not reply to an email seeking comment.

"Defendant has had knowledge of the infringing nature of its activities, or at least a willful blindness regarding the infringing nature of its activities," stated the complaint filed by Quinn Emanuel partner Victoria F. Maroulis.

The Trade Commission petition, also filed Friday by Quinn Emanuel attorneys, appears to target many of the same several dozen "vape shops" and pod makers named in the federal complaints. It cites Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which prohibits unfair trade practices that infringe on the intellectual property of U.S.-based companies.

The filing also cites two previous petitions to the Trade Commission, "eight trademark infringement lawsuits in the Eastern District of Virginia against counterfeiters" and "thousands of cease and desist letters." In the Matter of Certain Vaporizer Cartridges and Components Thereof, 337-3471 (ITC, filed July 10, 2020).

The embattled company is also a defendant in several product liability lawsuits claiming its products are dangerous and designed to addict children.