A US trade judge has found that vaping products sold by Glas, whose age-gated G2 system carries the first fruit flavours ever authorised by the FDA, infringe two Juul Labs patents. The recommended import ban must still clear the full International Trade Commission.
On October 20, US International Trade Commission (ITC) administrative law judge Doris Johnson Hines issued an initial determination finding that Glas, Inc. and Glas, LLC, both based in Los Angeles, violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. According to the judge, the vaporizer devices, cartridges and components they import and sell infringe two patents held by Juul Labs: US Patent Nos. 11,134,722 and 11,606,981.
I have determined that a violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, has occurredDoris Johnson Hines, ITC administrative law judge
Twelve claims infringed
Juul Labs and VMR Products filed their complaint on September 30, 2025, and the Commission opened Investigation No. 337-TA-1464 on December 16. Some of the claims initially asserted were later withdrawn by Juul.
The judge found that Glas products infringe nine claims of the ‘722 patent (claims 1, 5, 7, 15–16 and 18–21) and three claims of the ‘981 patent (claims 1, 5 and 8). Five other claims, 6 and 17 of the ‘722 patent and 9, 10 and 18 of the ‘981 patent, were not found to be infringed. Glas failed to show that any of the remaining claims at issue were invalid, and the judge held that Juul met the technical prong of the domestic industry requirement for both patents.
The economic prong of that requirement had already been settled. Glas did not respond to Juul’s motion on the issue, and in July the Commission affirmed, with modifications, the judge’s summary determination in Juul’s favour.
The full initial determination remains confidential. Only a short public notice summarising its conclusions is available.
Import ban recommended
The judge recommended a limited exclusion order covering Glas devices, cartridges and components that infringe the twelve claims, along with a cease and desist order against both Glas entities. The first would allow US Customs to stop infringing products at the border; the second would bar Glas from selling infringing products already imported.
Before ruling, the Commission is seeking public comments on how these orders would affect public health and welfare, competitive conditions, the US production of competing products and American consumers. Submissions, limited to five pages, are due by November 19.
Patents already used against NJOY
This is not the first time Juul has relied on these two patents. In a previous investigation, No. 337-TA-1368, the Commission found in January 2025 that the NJOY Ace, owned by Altria, infringed them, and issued a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders. That exclusion order covered claims 1 and 15 of the ‘722 patent and claims 1 and 8 of the ‘981 patent, all of which Glas has now been found to infringe as well.
The NJOY case also shows how far such orders can reach. Altria redesigned its device, and in April 2026 US Customs and Border Protection ruled that the “New NJOY ACE” was not subject to the exclusion order.
Juul is a regular at the ITC, from its complaints against copycat cartridges to its cross-complaints with NJOY. It is now on the receiving end of a patent lawsuit targeting its own JUUL2 device.
An FDA-authorised competitor
Glas is one of the few independent companies with FDA-authorised products. Its G2 device and a Blonde Tobacco pod received marketing granted orders on March 12, 2026. On May 5, the agency authorised four more pods, Classic Menthol, Fresh Menthol, Gold (mango) and Sapphire (blueberry), its first authorisation of non-tobacco, non-menthol ENDS products. The G2 requires age and identity verification with a government-issued ID, pairing with a smartphone, and random biometric check-ins, as Vaping Post reported at the time.
A marketing order and a patent dispute are separate legal matters: FDA authorisation does not shield a product from an ITC exclusion order. The public notices do not specify which Glas models are accused. If the G2 system falls within the final orders, they could cut off the supply of one of the few e-cigarettes legally marketed in the United States, and of the first fruit flavours ever authorised by the FDA. Public health is precisely one of the factors the Commission must weigh.
What comes next
The initial determination is subject to review by the full Commission, which may adopt, modify or reverse it. If the Commission finds a violation and issues orders, these then enter a 60-day presidential review period, during which the administration may disapprove them for policy reasons and Glas may keep importing under bond. In the NJOY case, the orders were not disapproved and the exclusion order took effect.
No target date for the Commission’s final decision appears in the public notices. Until then, no order is in force against Glas