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US Supreme Court rules in case of Lexmark refurbished ink cartridges

source: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-1189_ebfj.pdf

via: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/legal/lexmark-loses-supreme-court-case-users-can-sell-refurbished-ink-cartridges/

 

this "debate" corporation vs refurbishing is rather old and it stretches through the history ever since patent law (15th century)

 

in this particular case, the basic idea is that Lexmark opposed sale of refurbished cartridges and claimed Impression Products not only violated patent law but also contract law

what happened? Impression bought used cartridges, refurbished and refilled them and offered them for sale - Lexmark went berserk, as expected, and sued

on March 21 the case reached the Supreme Court and it was up to them to rule on whether US law surrounding patent exhaustion allows post-sale restrictions and if sales of a patented article outside of the US

on March 30th, the Supreme Court ruled 8-0 in favor of Impression Products:

Quote

The US Supreme Court wasn't impressed by Lexmark's argument that a patent's domain extends indefinitely and can prevent future sales of its product, even if the product has entered the legal ownership of another entity.

In a unanimous 8-0 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that "extending the patent rights beyond the first sale would clog the channels of commerce."

The Supreme Court argued the case falls under the "first sale doctrine," which says the limitations of a company's patent end after the first sale.

 

the decision will go down in history and will affect all future sale of refurbished cartridges and will put a stop on future similar litigations from corporations like Lexmark

corporations like Lexmark sold printers at a low cost knowing end-users will pay more from sale of new cartridges; entities like Impression Products bought the used cartridges, refurbished and refilled them and then sold them at a much lower price than a Lexmark new cartridge

 

but there are implications for US' Supreme Court ruling that will also affect other fields like automotive industry, medical equipment, agricultural equipment

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I'm glad they voted against Lexmark since the inks cost boatloads over the lifetime of the crappy printers, but hopefully it doesn't affect the auto or medical industries where things need to be calibrated to a certain tolerance.

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That's great news! The concept of post first-sale control over products also potentially held implications for software licenses, and the control that a software IP owner could try to claim over licenses that they've already sold to people. That said, it would be entirely incongruous with all established understanding of personal property rights for businesses to claim authority over items they've sold, and so it seems logical to me that the SCUS supported Impression Products in this case.

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This is great news.  I've owned an HP all-in-one for the last 8 years that I thought was purchased at a great price, only to realize I had to pay spend $100 on ink every 2 months based on my printing habits!  

 

I did this for 7 years, until my local computer store started selling their own brand of cartridges for 1/10th of the price!  Funny enough, the cheaper ink actually produced better quality prints

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Next up. people complaining becasue the cost of by a printer just tripled.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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Just now, huilun02 said:

Then there will be market opportunity for small and new printer brands to fill in the gap

Not if they can't capitalise on the lucrative ink market.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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Just now, huilun02 said:

I don't see why printer companies can't just sell both printer and ink at honest profit. Considering people can make money just by selling refills. 

 

Because refills don't cost millions in R+D and don't have your reputation (future income) hanging on the quality of the printer compared to the other 3 major manufacturers.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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3 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

I seriously doubt printers are sold at a terrible loss. 

Many printers are sold on the verge of a loss because the money in ink more than makes up for it.   But that is not really the issue. the fact is if HP, Lexmark et al can't cash in on their ink gold business model they are going to go harder in other directions.  It would be nice to think a new player is going to come a long without all the BS ink cartridge chips and anti refill firmware, but I am not holding my breath.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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1 hour ago, mr moose said:

Many printers are sold on the verge of a loss because the money in ink more than makes up for it.   But that is not really the issue. the fact is if HP, Lexmark et al can't cash in on their ink gold business model they are going to go harder in other directions.  It would be nice to think a new player is going to come a long without all the BS ink cartridge chips and anti refill firmware, but I am not holding my breath.

Didn't Kodak already do it. Iirc they entered the market promising to sell hardware and ink at a reasonable price and it seems like they're sticking to that promise.

 

£29.99 for the printer & £5.99 for the ink refils (that's colour and black BTW) is MUCH cheaper than everyone else.

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51 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Didn't Kodak already do it. Iirc they entered the market promising to sell hardware and ink at a reasonable price and it seems like they're sticking to that promise.

 

£29.99 for the printer & £5.99 for the ink refils (that's colour and black BTW) is MUCH cheaper than everyone else.

If they did they have forgotten to sell to the Aussie market. 

https://www.shopbot.com.au/kodak-printers/price/australia/338350

 

The cheapest here is $395

 

Basically they only do commercial stuff now.  I did read an article years ago saying they were leaving the inkjet market.  It appears cheap printers don't make any money unless you can subsidize with ink.   I hope I am wrong but it isn't really looking good.

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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CRO_electronics_printer_ink_infographic_06-13

 

It may be a 4 year old report, but it still holds.

 

Printer ink is one of the most expensive consumer goods, afaik. That's why I'm trying to find an alternative that can be made using "common" substances. So far I've made one mix that sort of works, but the drying time is too short and it ruins cartridges

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The cost of ink is why I just bought a refillable ink cartridge for my printer a couple years ago and refilling it up myself with ink that I can buy VERY cheaply online. Works just as well.

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9 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

The cost of ink is why I just bought a refillable ink cartridge for my printer a couple years ago and refilling it up myself with ink that I can buy VERY cheaply online. Works just as well.

 

When I had to replace my last printer I made sure the one I bought used ink tanks instead of cartridges.  I fill it up myself and it cost next to nothing (two complete fills is abut A$10).  .

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

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1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

The cost of ink is why I just bought a refillable ink cartridge for my printer a couple years ago and refilling it up myself with ink that I can buy VERY cheaply online. Works just as well.

A 10-refill bottle for my Canon's black ink cartridge is half the price of a new cartridge. GG Canon, you greedy feckers.

1 hour ago, mr moose said:

 

When I had to replace my last printer I made sure the one I bought used ink tanks instead of cartridges.  I fill it up myself and it cost next to nothing (two complete fills is abut A$10).  .

It's literally cheaper to buy a new printer than to replace the cartridges. Color cartridge for an IP2770 is almost the same price as the new printer itself.

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Have people forgotten laser printers exist?

 

Canon PIXMA MG3620 AIO Inkjet Printer: $45

Canon PG-240 Black Ink Cart: $19 for 300 pages approx.

 

Brother HL-L2380DW Laser Printer: $100

Brother TN630 Toner Cart: $30 for 1200 pages approx.

Brother TN660 High Yield Toner Cart: $46 for 2600 pages approx.

 

"Waste" your money on a laser printer, instead of having to repeatedly waste money buying into the inkjet scam.

 

EDIT: Even color laser printers are still cheaper in the long run than inkjet. Seriously, don't get an inkjet.

Edited by HarryNyquist
Color
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12 hours ago, Delicieuxz said:

That's great news! The concept of post first-sale control over products also potentially held implications for software licenses, and the control that a software IP owner could try to claim over licenses that they've already sold to people. That said, it would be entirely incongruous with all established understanding of personal property rights for businesses to claim authority over items they've sold, and so it seems logical to me that the SCUS supported Impression Products in this case.

I am curious to see when companies/individuals will start to use this ruling as protection against overbearing vendors.

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1 hour ago, HarryNyquist said:

Have people forgotten laser printers exist?

 

Canon PIXMA MG3620 AIO Inkjet Printer: $45

Canon PG-240 Black Ink Cart: $19 for 300 pages approx.

 

Brother HL-L2380DW Laser Printer: $100

Brother TN630 Toner Cart: $30 for 1200 pages approx.

Brother TN660 High Yield Toner Cart: $46 for 2600 pages approx.

 

"Waste" your money on a laser printer, instead of having to repeatedly waste money buying into the inkjet scam.

 

EDIT: Even color laser printers are still cheaper in the long run than inkjet. Seriously, don't get an inkjet.

While that's USUALLY true, there are inkjets that have extremely good cost/page -- HP Officejet 8100 Pro being one of them. 2300 black/white pages from a $40~ cartridge and 1500 colors pages from $30 (each) of C/M/Y cartridges.

 

That being said, a laserjet would (usually) produce better looking prints, but that doesn't necessarily matter to everyone as much as the dirt cheap cost of the printer itself ($50-$100).

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Just now, djdwosk97 said:

While that's USUALLY true, there are inkjets that have extremely good cost/page -- HP Officejet 8100 Pro. 2300 black/white pages from a $40~ cartridge and 1500 colors pages from $30 (each) of C/M/Y cartridges.

That's fair, but I doubt that a $220 printer is attractive to the buyer who just needs to print a document or two every once in awhile. I anticipate that most people looking at inkjets fall into that category. 

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4 minutes ago, HarryNyquist said:

That's fair, but I doubt that a $220 printer is attractive to the buyer who just needs to print a document or two every once in awhile. I anticipate that most people looking at inkjets fall into that category. 

It's only $220 because it's been discontinued. It was a budget, $100, printer when it was being produced.

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The other issue of Ink vs Laser is usually frequency of use and longevity.  Ink dries up way faster than toner goes bad.  If you are a home user, and print a few pages every other month, that ink will dry up and be useless before you get half way through your cartridge.  But the toner will last way longer with similar infrequent usage.  So, in the long run, laser will likely save you money and produce more consistent quality over its lifetime.

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8 hours ago, revsilverspine said:

CRO_electronics_printer_ink_infographic_06-13

 

It may be a 4 year old report, but it still holds.

 

Printer ink is one of the most expensive consumer goods, afaik. That's why I'm trying to find an alternative that can be made using "common" substances. So far I've made one mix that sort of works, but the drying time is too short and it ruins cartridges

What makes ink so bloody expensive in the first place? Replace it with water with food colouring if that's more your thing anyway.

Ye ole' train

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8 minutes ago, lots of unexplainable lag said:

What makes ink so bloody expensive in the first place? Replace it with water with food colouring if that's more your thing anyway.

Nothing, its pure mark up.

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It's not every day when our SCOTUS has a unanimous ruling, but when they do they usually knock it out of the park as is the case here.

 

Reading through the comments makes me wonder if the printer i have at home has refillable options.  Gonna have to look into it cause i rarely use it due to the cost of printing.  I just print at work lol. 

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16 hours ago, Thunderpup said:

It's not every day when our SCOTUS has a unanimous ruling, but when they do they usually knock it out of the park as is the case here.

 

Unfortunately, in this case, there are also exceptions to the rule: Supreme Court Rules 8-0 for Police in Major Fourth Amendment Case

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