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Jury Rules in Favor of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Patent Suit 

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is very pleased with today's jury verdict in favor of the company in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Star Scientific, Inc. (Star) in the U.S. District Court for Maryland - Northern Division. The jury ruled the patents in question, involving a method of treating tobacco to substantially prevent the formation of tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), were invalid and not infringed.

"Certainly, we are pleased with the jury's decision," said August Borschke, chief patent counsel for R.J. Reynolds. "The jury carefully evaluated all of the evidence presented and came to the right conclusion. They saw what we have known all along, that Star's patents are invalid, and they should not have been issued in the first place. The jury also confirmed R.J. Reynolds did not infringe Star's patents in any event."

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