The two companies have agreed to stop the production and sale of compatible inkjet cartridges and continuous ink supply system (CISS) devices for Epson printers, and will also pay undisclosed settlement fees to the OEM.
Both companies were accused of violating Epson’s Republic of China patent utility model patent no. UM-198935, and the Taiwanese IP court ruled in favour of Epson in January 2010.
Chiu Jia-sheng, a representative of ULIX and U-Color, released a statement acknowledging that the companies had infringed the patent and caused “inconvenience and damage” to Epson and its subsidiary Epson Taiwan Technology & Trading Ltd.
It said: “In order to show their gratitude for Epson’s not pursuing the infringing actions, ULIX/U-Color hereby posts this public apology, promises not to manufacture, offer for sell, sell, use or import any more infringing compatible ink cartridges and CISS products and urges the public/customers to respect Epson’s intellectual property rights.”
Epson meanwhile said it would continue to take “great care to observe laws and regulations, and to maintain high standards of corporate ethics while at the same time expecting others to show appropriate respect for its rights.”
The Japanese OEM continued: “We will continue vigorous enforcement of our intellectual property rights to protect our innovative products against those who use Epson’s patented technology, trademarks, and other intellectual property without permission.”