Reynolds' Vuse Alto Royalty Ruling

R.J. Reynolds has cleared a major piece of its Vuse Alto legal tab. U.S. District Judge William Osteen Jr. ruled that a December 2023 intellectual-property sublicense Reynolds obtained from Juul Labs covers the Altria patents at issue, ending Reynolds' obligation to pay ongoing royalties to Altria Client Services for Vuse Alto.

The ruling follows a 2022 jury verdict that awarded Altria approximately $95.2 million for past infringement and an ongoing royalty of 5.25% of Vuse Alto's positive net sales. The court's severability provision defeated Altria's argument that a defect in part of the sublicense voided the whole deal.

What stays: the original judgment and royalties owed before the sublicense took effect. What goes: future royalty payments, with the underlying patents running through 2035 — a liability Altria had framed in terms of 'hundreds of millions' of dollars.

The Federal Circuit upheld the underlying judgment in December 2024 and the Supreme Court declined review; Reynolds' sublicense gambit is the one that finally moved the needle on the ongoing bill.