U.S. Trade to Review Infringement Complaint Filed by HP
While Nokia’s battle versus Apple is only just beginning, Hewlett-Packard seems to have won a small victory in its quest to stop the importation of printer cartridges that allegedly violate some of the aforementioned manufacturer’s patent rights; Bloomberg reports that officials of the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington will be looking into the complaint filed by the company in September.
This is, however, by no means a victory yet; the nod in favor of an investigation does not necessarily mean that the Commission will automatically rule in favor of the PC and printer manufacturer. Winning the support of the Commission will be important in a case like this, though; the agency is the U.S. industry’s protector against unfair trade practices, and they are in a position to prevent imports that are in violation of patents to enter the country.
Hewlett-Packard’s battle is being waged against 11 companies based in the United States and Asia. The companies, HP claims, are in violation of patent laws as they engaged in “unlicensed importation, sales for importation and sales in the U.S.” of printer cartridges. Among the companies named in the complaint are Ninestar Technology Co. based in China, InkTec Co. based in South Korea, and Acer Inc. based in Taipei. Three of the eleven companies are based in California: InkPlusToner.com in Canoga Park, SmartOne Services LLC based in Hayward, and Comptree Ink in the City of Industry.
Wherever the wind may blow, one thing is certain; these issues are appearing most probably partly due to the clamor for cheaper alternatives to name-brand manufacturer-produced printer ink cartridges. It is not exactly a secret that consumers find printer ink as expensive; alternative ink cartridges would not have been developed in the first place if there is no market for such products.
Perhaps there is a way for HP and these companies to meet in the middle; after all, patent violations notwithstanding, the consumer’s needs ought to be considered as well.
Tags: cheap ink cartridge, cheap printer ink, HP cartridge, HP ink cartridge, HP printer, HP printer cartridgeRelated posts
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