The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) “ruled definitively” in favor of dozens of vaporizer companies that were accused of patent infringement by Chinese e-cigarette maker Shenzhen Smoore Technology Co.

Smoore is the parent company of CCell, which produces ceramic vape cartridges for the U.S. marijuana industry.

The ITC agreed with an administrative law judge’s initial determination in February, according to a news release.

In the initial Feb. 1 determination, the judge ruled that Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 was not violated “in the importation into the United States or the sale within the United States after importation of certain oil-vaping cartridges, components thereof, and products containing the same based on infringement” of three patents.

Alex Kwon, co-founder and CEO of Advanced Vapor Devices, applauded the decision, saying in a statement that “today is an enormous victory for the US cannabis vaping sector.”

Advanced Vapor Devices is one of the companies named in the lawsuit.

“We are grateful to the International Trade Commission for exposing CCELL’s bullying of US companies,” Advanced Vapor Chief Operating Officer Michael Brosgart said in a statement.

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/cannabis-vaporizer-makers-score-definitive-victory-in-patent-dispute/