Philip Morris Sues Bat for Patent Infringement on Glo (Correct)

Philip Morris International Inc. is suing British American Tobacco Plc in Japan, claiming that the U.K. company’s tobacco-heating device infringes patents held by the Marlboro maker.

Representatives for both companies’ Japan offices confirmed the lawsuit, which was filed in district court in Tokyo in June. Japan has become a battleground for high-tech smoking alternatives, with the introduction of Philip Morris’s iQos device disrupting local cigarette sales.

Kyodo had earlier reported the lawsuit and that Philip Morris seeks 100 million yen ($900,000) in damages in addition to halting British American Tobacco’s sales of its heat-not-burn tobacco device, called Glo.

Philip Morris ...