One application and two granted patents could be relevant for both remanufacturers and compatible manufacturers.
Canon’s granted EU patent, EP 1 363 169 B1
The OEM’s application, a German patent document – DE 10 2014 209778 A1 – corresponds to a US patent, US 2014/348522 A1, and refers to an “image forming apparatus that includes a body [and] a cartridge detachably mountable to the body”, with information recording portions included in the toner cartridge that “electrically” communicates with a control portion.
This may have significance for remanufacturers because once granted the patent could be infringed indirectly when providing a cartridge that is both intended for and designed for use in the system that has been patented. In turn, one of its granted EU patents – EP 1 816 527 B1 – refers to a toner cartridge apparatus with a tray that carries process cartridges, and which could be infringed indirectly if selling a cartridge to be used in a certain printer.
Another granted patent – EP 1 363 169 B1 – refers to a cartridge with “abutting portions” as well as a main board provided “between the cartridge abutting portions” – and has implications for both compatibles manufacturers and remanufacturers in that the document covers the rebuilding of portions of the toner cartridge (or, in the case of compatibles, portions that might have been built to interact with the printer).
Canon has previously either applied for or been granted patents with potential impacts for the aftermarket in both June and March 2014 and in December 2012, with ETIRA opposing the patent registered in March, stating “this is a patent which is worth fighting on behalf of the entire industry”. Lexmark also recently applied for a number of patents that could have implications for the industry