b'10American Journal of Transportation ajot.comPhilip Morris faces riskIRobot files patent suit of imports for US cigaretteseeking US removal of Roomba rivalalternative being blocked IRobot Corp., maker of Roomba roboticaffordableoptionsforconsumers.SharkNinja vacuumcleaners,hasfiledanewpatent- said it knew of the iRobots patents in that case PhilipMorrisInterna- animportationbanagainstinfringement complaint seeking to get rival JSand specifically designed around them.tional Inc. faces the possibil- IQOS in the U.S. is part of aGlobalLifestyleCo.sSharkNinjavacuumsIRobot said its Roomba vacuum and Braava ityofhavingimportsofitsbroader global strategy meantandhybridvacuum-mopperscutoutofthefloor mops can map the floor of a home, sense IQOSheated-tobaccostickstounderminetheheated- U.S. market. changes in the floor type being cleaned, spot to the U.S. blocked as earlytobacco segment, where theyIn a complaint filed at the U.S. Internationalclean, avoid objects and cliffs (such as stairs), as November in an intensify- lagfarbehind,andprotectTrade Commission in Washington, iRobot por- andintelligentlyapproachabasestationto inglegalbattlewithBritishtheir core cigarette business,trays itself as an American success story withrecharge, among other innovative features.AmericanTobaccoPlcoverPhilip Morris said. a passion for innovation thats been under- SharkNinja purposefully used iRobot inven-cigarette alternatives. Reynolds and Altria havecut by SharkNinja incorporating those inven- tions in its lower-quality imitations, and quickly BATssubsidiaryReyn- accused each other of infring- tions into its Chinese-made knockoffs. IRobotbecame the second-largest domestic player in the olds AmericanInc.seekstoing patents for things like thewants the trade agency to ban imports of vari- market segment by marketing itself as a low-blockimportsofthestickspod assembly, charging caseous SharkNinja products, including the ION,cost alternative, iRobot told the agency.as it alleges that the tobaccoand flavor enhancements. InIQ and AI wet/dry VacMop. Thetradecommissionisknownforits heatingtechnologyusedintheITCcase,ReynoldshasBedford,Massachusetts-basediRobotisspeedittypicallycompletesinvestigations IQOSdevicesinfringeditsthe support of the trade agen- turning to the agency after failing to hobblewithin 15 to 18 months. Just as importantly for patents.Thesix-daytrialatcys staff, which acts as a thirdSharkNinjawithanearlierlawsuitcloseriRobot, any challenges SharkNinja may file at theU.S.InternationalTradeparty to the case on behalf ofto home. A federal judge in Boston in 2019the patent office wont affect the pace of the CommissioninWashington,the public. Staff lawyer Sarahrebuffed iRobots request to order SharkNinjacase. The trade agency has said it wont wait D.C.beganMonday,withaSladic, in opening arguments,to stop selling its products while the lawsuitfor any reviews by the patent office, and the judge scheduled to release hisrecommended that the judgewas pending. That suit was put on hold lastpatent office has recently cited the speed of the findings in May. find that Altria infringed twoweekwhiletheU.S.PatentandTrademarkITC in declining to even institute a review.Tobacco firms are spend- patents for a smoking articleOffice conducts a review of some of the pat- IRobotsalsohadmoresuccessatthe ingbillionsofdollarstowith a heater that creates anents in the case. agency than in court. In 2018 it won an order developsmokelessalterna- aerosol, but that there was noRepresentatives for SharkNinja didnt imme- limitingimportsofsomeroboticvacuum tives such as nicotine pouches,violation of a third patent, fordiately respond to a request for comment. In thecleaners and forced settlements out of others.e-cigarettes and tobacco-heat- the control body. Boston case, SharkNinja accused iRobot of usingThe case is In the Matter of Certain Robotic ingdevicesasfewerpeople(BLOCKEDcontinued onlitigation in an attempt to dominate the roboticCleaning Devices, 337-3530, U.S. International smoketraditionalcigarettes.page 11) vacuumcleanermarketandeliminatemoreTrade Commission (Washington).Philip Morriss IQOS device is the only heat-not-burn prod-uct to be authorized for sale inBREAKBULK AND PROJECT CARGO.the U.S., where its marketed by Altria Group Inc SAVANNAH AND BRUNSWICK.Thedevice,wherethe tobaccoisheatedenoughSMART MOVE.tocreateanaerosolbutnot enough to combust, also got the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-trationsnodlastyeartobeEXPERIENCE, FLEXIBILITY AND RAPID MARKET ACCESS marketed as reducing consum-ers exposure to harmful chem- MAKE THE GEORGIA PORTS THE PERFECT HUBicals found in cigarettes, givingFOR BREAKBULK AND PROJECT CARGO.Philip Morris even more of an edge against competitors.Pressure is on to develop newmarkets,astobacco stocksfellinthepastyear evenastheoverallU.S. market surged. Altria dropped 18% and Philip Morriss U.S. sharesweredown2.7%in 2020, while BAT was down 16%inLondon.TheS&P 500,meanwhile,rose16% during that period.Reynoldssuedin April, with a case in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, and the complaint at the ITC. Reyn-olds claims that Philip Morris andAltriacopiedpatented technology that it had devel-opedforitsVuseVibeand Vuse Solo vaping products.Giventhesignificant investment we have made in developing our products, we simplycannotallowcom-petitorstouseourpatented innovationsandtechnology intheirdevices,BATsaid Dedicated teams well-versed in the special355,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space at Port of by email. handling requirements for each type of cargo Brunswicks Mayors Point TerminalAltriarespondedwith itsownpatent-infringement Direct interstate access to manufacturing points1.3 million sq. ft. of warehouse space at Port of claimsintheVirginiacase,throughout the U.S. Savannahs Ocean Terminalandaseparatesuitagainst Established relationship with the GeorgiaRail: Brunswick - Direct CSX and Norfolk SouthernReynolds in May. Altria alsoDepartment of Transportation for overweight Savannah - Direct Norfolk Southern and lodged petitions with the U.S.and dimensional cargo permitting assistance CSX via SwitchPatent and Trademark Office challenging the validity of a half-dozenReynoldspat- For additional information, contactents,includingthethreeinBobby Keel, Regional Sales Manager, Trade Development at the ITC case. (912) 965-6369, [email protected] attempt to securegaports.com/cargo/breakbulk'