At a meeting in Warwick yesterday to review and update the association’s code of conduct, members agreed to include a statement that they would only process cartridges legally placed on the market.
The decision follows members’ concerns about “the increased volume of so called compatibles, or clones in the market in Europe that may or may not infringe the original manufacturers intellectual property rights,” as well as the recent announcement of Canon’s ITC complaint against Ninestar in the USA.
Members felt that while “most clones and compatibles were of poor quality and easy to distinguish from OEM cartridges, more recently there are some compatible and clone cartridges in the market that are very hard to tell apart and only a trained operative could spot the differences”.
Keith Moss, Chairman of UKCRA, said: “It is important that we all respect intellectual property rights and only process cartridges legally placed on the market in the same way a jeweller would not process a fake Rolex or Omega watch, it is just not ethical.“
The upcoming September issue of The Recycler magazine features a special focus on illegal, cartridges including patent infringing and counterfeit pieces.