The NJOY lawsuit that pulled the NJOY Ace off U.S. shelves is a patent case Juul Labs filed against Altria’s NJOY unit at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Juul won. On January 29, 2025, the ITC found that NJOY Ace pod-based e-cigarettes infringed four Juul vaporizer patents, and on March 31, 2025, exclusion and cease-and-desist orders took effect, halting imports and sales. Altria has since written down billions of dollars tied to NJOY, lost its appeal and related counterattacks, and is now fighting a second Juul patent case aimed at the NJOY Daily and a redesigned Ace.
What Juul Accused NJOY Of
Juul filed its complaint with the ITC in the summer of 2023, accusing NJOY of importing and selling devices that copied four Juul vaporizer patents.1CSP Daily News. Trade Commission’s Decision Affirms Altria’s NJOY Ace Devices Infringe Several Juul Patents The investigation, designated No. 337-TA-1372, targeted the NJOY Ace specifically.2U.S. International Trade Commission. Investigation 337-TA-1372
The timing mattered. Altria had just closed its $2.75 billion acquisition of NJOY Holdings in June 2023, after previously divesting its stake in Juul.3Altria Investor Relations. Altria Completes Acquisition of NJOY Holdings Juul said Altria had failed to secure a license for Juul’s intellectual property before pushing NJOY’s competing devices into the market.4Juul Labs. Juul Labs Files Additional Patent Infringement Actions Against NJOY and Altria
The Ban on the NJOY Ace
The ITC’s final determination on January 29, 2025, found infringement on all four asserted Juul patents, which expire in 2034 and 2037.5Yahoo Finance. US to Halt Imports, Sale of NJOY Ace Vaping Products The commission issued a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders barring Altria and NJOY from importing or selling the infringing devices in the United States.1CSP Daily News. Trade Commission’s Decision Affirms Altria’s NJOY Ace Devices Infringe Several Juul Patents
The orders were subject to a 60-day presidential review by the U.S. Trade Representative. The administration did not intervene, and the ban took effect on March 31, 2025. Altria stopped shipping the NJOY Ace to wholesalers that day.6Tobacco Asia. Altria Pulls NJOY Ace From US Market After ITC Patent Ruling
The Ace was not a small product. It was the first pod-based vaping device to receive FDA marketing authorization, and as of June 2024 the menthol NJOY Ace was the only menthol-flavored e-cigarette legally sold in the country.7U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Authorizes Marketing of Four Menthol Flavored E-Cigarette Products
What the Ban Cost Altria
Going into 2025, NJOY held a 6.4% share of the U.S. multi-outlet and convenience channel, ranking third behind Vuse and Juul. Shipments had grown 15.3% year-over-year, topping 46 million units in 2024.8C-Store Dive. Juul Patent Lawsuit: US to Halt Imports, Sale of NJOY Ace
In the first quarter of 2025, Altria recorded an $873 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge on its e-vapor reporting unit tied to the ITC ban.9U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Altria Group Q1 2025 Earnings Press Release By year end, cumulative pre-tax impairment charges reached $2.2 billion, most of it from write-downs on e-vapor goodwill and intangibles. Altria also booked $51 million in 2025 expenses tied to the exclusion order, partially offset by insurance recoveries. In its January 2026 guidance, the company said it does not expect the NJOY Ace to return to the marketplace in 2026.10Altria Investor Relations. Altria Reports 2025 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results S&P Global Ratings called it “highly unlikely” that Altria would return to the e-vapor market within 12 months.11S&P Global Ratings. Altria Group Credit Analysis
How Altria Tried To Fight Back
Altria pushed on three fronts, and all three failed.
It filed its own ITC patent case against Juul, asserting two Altria patents. On March 3, 2025, an administrative law judge found no infringement, and the ITC terminated the case.12CSP Daily News. Trade Commission Ends Altria’s Patent Infringement Case Against Juul Labs
NJOY also challenged one of the Juul patents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. On June 11, 2025, the PTAB refused to invalidate U.S. Patent No. 10,130,123, which covers vaporizer blow-discrimination technology.13Law360. NJOY Can’t Ax Juul Vape Patent at PTAB After ITC Loss
Finally, NJOY appealed the ITC ruling to the Federal Circuit in May 2025. That appeal was voluntarily dismissed on July 11, 2025, with each side bearing its own costs.14U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. NJOY, LLC v. ITC, No. 25-1735 Order
The Constitutional Challenge to the ITC
On November 7, 2025, Altria and NJOY tried something more unusual. They sued the ITC in the Eastern District of Virginia, Case No. 3:25-cv-00930, challenging the constitutionality of the commission’s administrative law judge system.15Tobacco Reporter. Altria, NJOY Sue U.S. ITC for Unconstitutional Process Amid Juul Patent Fight16PACER Monitor. NJOY, LLC et al v. The International Trade Commission et al
The companies argue that ITC administrative law judges are “inferior officers” who must be appointed under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, that removal protections for those judges violate the separation of powers, and that the ITC’s process denies them a Seventh Amendment jury trial, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy. On June 11, 2026, Judge Robert E. Payne denied the companies’ motion for a preliminary injunction, finding them “unlikely to succeed.” Cross-motions for summary judgment are still pending.17Mealey’s Litigation Report. Judge Declines to Enjoin ITC’s Patent Investigation Into NJOY Vapes
Juul’s Second Case: NJOY Daily and a Redesigned Ace
With the original Ace off the market, Juul went after NJOY’s other products. On August 8, 2025, Juul filed new patent infringement complaints at the ITC and in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, alleging that the NJOY Daily disposable vape and a redesigned Ace infringe U.S. Patent No. 12,156,533, covering nicotine-salt formulations meant to deliver cigarette-like satisfaction.18Bloomberg Law. Juul Moves to Block New NJOY Daily, Ace Vapes With Patent Claims The Arizona case was assigned to Judge John J. Tuchi.19CourtListener. JUUL Labs Incorporated v. NJOY LLC, No. 2:25-cv-02853
The ITC instituted the second investigation, No. 337-TA-1460, on September 9, 2025.20Federal Register. Certain Vaporizer Devices, Cartridges Used Therewith, and Components Thereof (II) – Notice of Institution On April 14, 2026, Administrative Law Judge Doris Johnson Hines granted summary determination that all asserted claims of Patent No. 12,156,533 are invalid, a win for NJOY.21Bloomberg Law. Altria Uses ITC Invalidity Ruling Against Juul Vape Patent Suit The full ITC commission has since decided to review that ruling and asked both parties to clarify how a key phrase in the patent should be interpreted, so the outcome is not settled.22Law360. ITC to Review Ruling That Ended Juul Vape Patent for NJOY
The Arizona case is in discovery. In late December 2025, Juul sought a protective order to keep NJOY from using documents Juul said were inadvertently uploaded to a public University of California, San Francisco database. NJOY opposed, accusing Juul of trying to hide evidence that it misled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.23Bloomberg Law. Juul Seeks to Bar Altria Use of UCSF Records in Vape Patent Case
Other NJOY Lawsuits Worth Knowing About
Two other suits sometimes surface under the “NJOY lawsuit” label but are separate from the Juul patent fight.
In October 2023, NJOY filed a sweeping case in the Central District of California against 34 makers, distributors, and retailers of illicit disposable e-cigarettes, including the companies behind Elf Bar, Puff Bar, Lost Mary, and Esco Bar.24Altria Investor Relations. NJOY Brings Sweeping Litigation Against Illicit Disposable Vapor Manufacturers25Tobacco Reporter. Most Defendants Dropped From NJOY Vape Suit26Vaping360. Judge Dismisses Most of NJOY/Altria Lawsuit Against Disposable Sellers
Older still, a consumer class action against the pre-Altria NJOY entity alleged deceptive safety marketing. The Central District of California denied class certification in August 2015, denied a revised certification motion, and dismissed the remaining claims with prejudice in April 2016. A later appeal was stayed when that original NJOY company entered bankruptcy.27Truth in Advertising. NJOY, NJOY Kings, OneJoy E-Cigarettes
Where Things Stand
The NJOY Ace remains off the U.S. market with no return expected in 2026. Altria says it has completed a modified design intended to work around the four Juul patents, but regulatory analysts have suggested a redesigned device may need a fresh FDA premarket application that could take a year or more.6Tobacco Asia. Altria Pulls NJOY Ace From US Market After ITC Patent Ruling Altria has said it is “reassessing” its smoke-free goals while it waits for clarity on the legitimate e-vapor market.10Altria Investor Relations. Altria Reports 2025 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results
Juul’s second ITC case targeting the NJOY Daily and redesigned Ace is under commission review after the ALJ invalidated the asserted patent. The constitutional challenge to the ITC is awaiting summary judgment in Virginia. The Arizona patent case is in active discovery. Two companies that were once corporate partners are now locked in a fight that is nowhere near finished.