Printer Ink Cartridges: Brand Name Manufacturing Curving The Competition
Tired of generic companies reverse engineering and underselling their cartridges, brand name manufacturers have begun to use "technological measures". As generic cartridges gain popularity, however, some brand companies are beginning to go over the edge. Lexmark has stooped to new lows, trying to bend the DMCA law to their advantage. It's clear, however, that the courts don't look kindly on companies that try to bend the law to their advantage.
Static Control, the defendant, is being sued because the family-owned business in Sanford, NC "cracked" the proprietary code in Lexmark's microchips. The SmartTek chip, produced by static control, makes it possible to use generic cartridges with full functionality in Lexmark printers. While they have agreed to stop production of the chip until an injunction date could be set, Static Control maintains that they have done nothing to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Hewlett Packard thinks the use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was out of line. After all, the DMCA was put in place to protect things like movies and software applications. In the 1993 Sega VS Accolade case, the court said: "Where disassembly is the only way to gain access to the ideas and functional elements embodied in a copyrighted computer program and where there is a legitimate reason for seeking such access, disassembly is a fair use of the copyrighted work, as a matter of law."
It seems that Lexmark is unlikely to accomplish anything with this legal battle.
It's not hard to understand why brand ink companies are willing to go to such great lengths to get rid of competition. Printer consumables are a very lucrative industry. The consensus in the courts is clear: consumers should be able to choose whether they want to buy brand ink or generic. In North Carolina, for example, it's illegal to sell a printer that was designed to reject generic cartridges. Now you have the right to decide whether or not you want to buy expensive brand name printer ink. Go ahead and buy equal quality, lower cost generic ink.
A lot of brand name inks are pigment based. Consider, though, that if you won't be printing photos, you're paying more than twice the cost you'd pay for generic for a luxury you don't need. If you're paying an arm and a leg for shipping, you're getting a raw deal. You should be saving a substantial amount by buying online at a website store.
Static Control, the defendant, is being sued because the family-owned business in Sanford, NC "cracked" the proprietary code in Lexmark's microchips. The SmartTek chip, produced by static control, makes it possible to use generic cartridges with full functionality in Lexmark printers. While they have agreed to stop production of the chip until an injunction date could be set, Static Control maintains that they have done nothing to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Hewlett Packard thinks the use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was out of line. After all, the DMCA was put in place to protect things like movies and software applications. In the 1993 Sega VS Accolade case, the court said: "Where disassembly is the only way to gain access to the ideas and functional elements embodied in a copyrighted computer program and where there is a legitimate reason for seeking such access, disassembly is a fair use of the copyrighted work, as a matter of law."
It seems that Lexmark is unlikely to accomplish anything with this legal battle.
It's not hard to understand why brand ink companies are willing to go to such great lengths to get rid of competition. Printer consumables are a very lucrative industry. The consensus in the courts is clear: consumers should be able to choose whether they want to buy brand ink or generic. In North Carolina, for example, it's illegal to sell a printer that was designed to reject generic cartridges. Now you have the right to decide whether or not you want to buy expensive brand name printer ink. Go ahead and buy equal quality, lower cost generic ink.
A lot of brand name inks are pigment based. Consider, though, that if you won't be printing photos, you're paying more than twice the cost you'd pay for generic for a luxury you don't need. If you're paying an arm and a leg for shipping, you're getting a raw deal. You should be saving a substantial amount by buying online at a website store.
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