UPDATE 2-Reynolds claims victory in tobacco patent case

(Adds Star Scientific comment)

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - A federal judge handed R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. a legal victory on Friday, ruling that key patent claims at issue in an infringement suit brought by Star Scientific Inc. (STSI.O) were invalid.

U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis agreed with Reynolds that the term "anaerobic condition", used in Star Scientific's patents on a curing process that reduces the level of cancer-causing toxins in tobacco, was "fatally indefinite" and therefore invalid.

Garbis also agreed with Reynolds that the effective date of the patents was Sept. 15, 1999, rather than Sept. 15, 1998, as Star Scientific had claimed.

Star Scientific sued Reynolds in 2001, saying the company had violated patents it held. Reynolds is now a part of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI.N)

"It has been R.J. Reynolds' position that Star's patents are invalid," August Borschke, a lawyer for Reynolds, said in a statement. "Today's ruling confirms our belief."

Star's suit sought hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for past alleged infringement and an injunction barring future infringement, Reynolds said.

Hours after the ruling, Star Scientific said that it would appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a Washington, D.C. court that specializes in patent appeals. Star Scientific called the decision by Judge Garbis "incorrect" and said the company was confident it would win on appeal.

Trading in Star Scientific shares was halted on the NASDAQ shortly before the news. Reynolds American shares rose 58 cents to close at $63.76.

Star Scientific stock rose as much as 57 percent on Wednesday after the tobacco products maker was informed that the rulings would be released this week.