The European patent refers to “memory control”, with a portion of the cartridge able to store “information relating to a condition of the cartridge”.
The patent granted to Canon earlier this year, EP 1 383 014 B1, is potentially significant to the industry as it refers to a cartridge “having a part of elements for image formation, which is removably attachable to an image forming apparatus main body”. This in itself is not the relevant part, but the patent’s reference to memory and control “means” within the cartridge discusses the storage areas for “storing information relating to a condition of the cartridge”, as well as “controlling reading of the information” from the memory.
This is very relevant to remanufacturers as it seems that the cartridge would be able to both store and transmit information relating to the cartridge’s “condition” – and, more importantly, control the ability to read the information stored within the memory. This could prevent the cartridges from being remanufactured or from working. The document also mentions the ability for “double-checking an update”, which would allow the cartridge to ensure that firmware is updated.