Imperial Tobacco recently purchased Dragonite International from E-cig inventor Hon Lik. Right now, Imperial Tobacco is behind the top 3 largest tobacco companies in the world. This move to purchase Dragonite International was designed to take on many of the most popular E-cig companies in the market. This move is strategic and Imperial has launched a large litigation endeavor suing Lorillard, Vapor Corp and numerous other E-cig companies.
Patent Lawsuit
Due to their purchase of Dragonite International, Imperial is embarking on a wide ranging patent lawsuit targeting all the major E-cig companies. Hon Lik created E-cigs and made a point to patent his invention. The modern E-cig is attributed to Hon Lik alone and now Imperial has purchased the rights to his patents.
Secure Patents
Patent law can often be a touchy subject, but Hon Lik saw the writing on the wall and was diligent with his extensive portfolio of patents. Hon made every effort to ensure that his invention could be protected from devices that were simply mimicking the design he created. He knew that other companies would follow behind his invention and he was completely on point. There are now more than 300 total companies that combine to create the E-cig market. This industry also made more than $1 billion in profits from the last year alone.
Imperial Taking On Big Guns
Imperial Tobacco is dedicated to making other E-cig companies adhere to the patent laws that are in place. Lorillard, NJOY and Vapor Corp are the main targets of eth patent lawsuit, but 6 other E-cig companies are also being listed. This lawsuit is strictly designed to protect the invention that Hon Lik created and obtain compensation for any patent infringements that took place. Patent lawsuits are time consuming and no clear ruling is on the horizon for some time.
Repercussions
This battle that is beginning to wage between Imperial and many of the other E-cig companies could have far reaching ramifications. These E-cig companies were completely taken aback by these patent lawsuits and were not aware that a war was brewing. Imperial is not just after a cash settlement, but is looking to remove some of eth medium-level E-cig competition out of the market for good. The end result of these patent lawsuits is not quite known yet, but it will definitely shake up the E-cig industry in a big way.