Last month the Düsseldorf regional court ruled against Nestlé in favour of two competitors who were selling unlicensed coffee capsules in Germany marked as “fitting Nespresso coffee machines” for up to a third less. The court said that in buying a Nespresso machine a consumer had acquired the right to operate it as they saw fit, including using capsules produced by other manufacturers. The court gave further clarification in saying that the capsules were essential to the functioning of the Nespresso machine, they were neither a key part or feature.
There are very obviously strong synergies in the concept of coffee machine and pods and printers and cartridges so I wonder how long it will be before we see toner and inkjet cartridges on the market with “fitting XYZ printer”.
Be very cautious because this decision is only valid in Germany and does not set any precedents for the printer market where very strong IP and case law exists.