MO · News · 20260901N

Litigation and Legal Risk

ALTRIA GROUP, INC. · 2026-09-01 · Importance 47 · Surprise 60

A federal judge in North Carolina ruled that a sublicensing agreement between R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and Juul Labs Inc. releases Reynolds from paying royalties to Altria Client Services LLC. The ruling follows a federal jury finding that Reynolds infringed Altria’s vape-pen design. The agreement terminates Reynolds’ royalty payments to Altria, creating an ongoing revenue and intellectual-property litigation impact, although the reported amount of lost royalties was not disclosed.