Reynolds continues to protect trademarks in e-cigarette suits

Protecting the Camel and Winston trademarks from misuse by small electronic-cigarette retailers has kept a Reynolds American Inc. subsidiary quite busy over the past four years.
Reynolds Innovations Inc. has filed 29 lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of N.C. since August 2009, with the last being submitted July 1.
In all 21 closed cases, the Reynolds subsidiary won a final judgment and/or permanent injunction to keep the companies from marketing products similar to the Reynolds brands in taste or logo. In many cases, Reynolds received damages. Another four have either reached a settlement or the judgment stage.

Old tobacco playbook gets new use by e-cigarettes

Companies vying for a stake in the fast-growing electronic cigarette business are reviving the decades-old marketing tactics the tobacco industry used to hook generations of Americans on regular smokes.
They’re using cab-top and bus stop displays, sponsoring race cars and events, and encouraging smokers to “rise from the ashes” and take back their freedom in slick TV commercials featuring celebrities like TV personality Jenny McCarthy.