Vape firm Altria files patent on anti-counterfeit tech

Counterfeiting is a major problem for vape manufacturers, and Altria's Njoy unit has filed a patent for a technological solution for e-cigarette devices that use refill cartridges.

The approach – which will be familiar to users of some printers when trying to use replacement toner products – involves the use of wireless communication systems that can identify if a cartridge plugged into an e-cigarette is a genuine Njoy product using a serial number of some other identifier. If deemed to be fake, the device would not activate to allow the cartridge to be used.

In principle, the approach could also be deployed to prevent the use of non-Njoy refills – a strategy that has been used by printer manufacturers to try to discourage customers from using generic toner refills.

In the patent application, Njoy describes various ways in which that could be achieved, along with related technology such as an age-verified mobile application for registering devices and cartridges that would prevent them from being used by "inappropriate" consumers.

An abstract of the patent appears below:

Electronic vaping devices, cartridges, and access control systems

An e-vaping device includes wireless communications circuitry and processing circuitry coupled to the wireless communications circuitry The processing circuitry is configured to receive authorization information via wireless communications circuitry, the authorization information indicating whether the e-vaping device is authorized to activate a docked removable cartridge, and conditionally activate the docked removable cartridge based on the authorization information.

Patent application number: 18/588408