HP targets remanufacturing with lawsuits

At the end of March a lawsuit was filed by Hewlett Packard against US remanufacturing company LaserCycle, alleging patent violations specific to the ink chemistry found in three of the company’s remanufactured inkjet cartridges.

HP’s lawyers claim that ink used by Lasercycle has been subject to three US patents – the oldest of these describes a chemical process that many chemists consider to be a “prior art” i.e. it was a method widely known about before the patent was applied. However, the other two patent specifications are much more complex.

 

According to LaserCycle company spokesperson, Brad Roderick, “Once we learned of their concern, we immediately reached out to HP to gain a clear and full understanding of the issues. Our initial conversations with HP have been quite positive, with discussions centering on inks supplied to us by aftermarket ink manufacturers”.

 

He goes on to discuss the standpoint of his company, which he believes has been “ethically beyond reproach” and has always paid “full respect to intellectual property rights”. As such the company was “surprised and disappointed to learn of HP’s concern with the ink formulations in our supply chain”. He concludes “LaserCycle has never, and would never, knowingly violate patents or any other intellectual property rights. In direct collaboration with Hewlett Packard, we are working to quickly resolve this matter satisfactorily to both parties”.

 

In a separate case, launched just days after the LaserCycle lawsuit, Hewlett-Packard launched a legal attack on another US company, Rhinotek Computer Products, asserting that on its packaging the inkjet cartridge refiller falsely advertises its products as new.

Rhinotek believes that there is nothing wrong with its packaging and that it clearly states that its products are clearly labelled as remanufactured. On the packaging under the heading “Help the Environment,” the wording says, “At Rhinotek we do everything we can to encourage recycling. We use recycled components in our packaging and products whenever possible”. Perhaps this could be construed as ambiguous, however, Rhinotek has pointed out that it has used the same packaging for eight years and met with no objections.

In a statement to his customers, Gerald Chamales, Chairman and Founder of Rhinotek asserts his belief that “the Rhinotek packaging is in full compliance with the law”. He goes on to say that “this is an assault on our integrity as a company and indicative of the lengths HP will go to in an effort to protect their bottom line as they continue to lose market share to the aftermarket companies”.

Rhinotek is keen to point out that HP is not seeking to stop the sale of its cartridges, but does want to have the wording on its packages modified. At the time of going to press the company had not yet determined what its legal response to the lawsuit would be.