UPDATE:RJ Reynolds Loses Patent Appeal In Star Scientific Case
10 March 2009 - 2:08AM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Co., which is fighting a patent lawsuit by Star
Scientific Inc. (STSI).
Star Scientific is a developer of tobacco growing processes that
reduce carcinogens in tobacco products. The company sued R.J.
Reynolds, a unit of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), alleging its
larger tobacco infringed on patents on tobacco curing processes
aimed at lower tobacco specific nitrosamines in tobacco plants.
R.J. Reynolds argued the Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
a special federal patent court, had wrongly overturned a federal
trial judge's holding that it had not infringed on Star Scientific
patents. "The Federal Circuit decision here departs from common
sense," R.J. Reynolds said.
Star Scientific, in a court brief, called the legal reasoning
behind R.J. Reynolds appeal "illusory."
Star Scientific's lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds began in 2001
and the case went to trial in 2005, resulting in a ruling in favor
of R.J. Reynolds.. The Federal Circuit reversed the lower court in
August 2008.
The case is R.J. Reynolds v. Star Scientific, 08-918. Star
Scientific, 08-918.
-By Mark H. Anderson, Dow Jones Newswires, 202 862-9254;
mark.anderson@dowjones.com