Engadget: “Refilling printer ink cartridges: crime?”

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Engadget: “Refilling printer ink cartridges: crime?”

[Is there a PC Doctor in the house? » The PC Doctor’s Technoblog - Help is just a click away!] “A recent court victory was handed to Lexmark, which reportedly gives them the power under contract and patent law to enforce the “single use only” policy written on the side of Lexmark printer cartridge boxes. This means you could technically face legal charges for refilling a Lexmark printer cartridge with third-party ink.”

Some related posts from Technorati and Google.

[The Edge of I-Hacked] Refilling Ink Cartridges now a crime: Evidently, it’s when you ignore the terms written on the side of Lexmark printer cartridge box, refilling the cartridge with ink even when the company has designated it “single use only.” According to the Ninth Circuit ruling [PDF] this week in ACRA v. Lexmark, opening the package means you agree to Lexmark’s wishes.

[Ambot ah!] Ink Refills will become illegal.: (via digg and Corante) Inkrefilling is a crime. That’s according to the recent court ruling which Lexmark won.

[Engadget - www.engadget.com] Refilling printer ink cartridges: crime? >: The recent court ruling upheld that such a policy was enforceable by Lexmark, such that if you buy a cheaper cartridge under the Prebate program, you are breaking the law and could face legal action if you refill the cartridge, send it to another cartridge remanufacturer, or if you simply don’t return it. So, y’know, if you’re in the habit of buying cheap Lexmark ink cartridges, you might want to keep an eye out for the Lexmark militia come to commandeer those suckers.

[Corante.com] The Latest IP Crime: "Box-Wrap" Patent Infringement: Corante ...: When contract law becomes simple enough for me to understand, then I'll be happier about schemes such as this "prebate" - in the meantime I'll just avoid using any new Lexmark printers (my Optra S 1855 is still doing wonderful service with remanufactured cartridges), and I suggest that companies like Lexmark should be trying to apply common sense - it seems to me to be bad business sense to give a discount on a product in the hope that the customer will send the empty cartridge back. Reward the customer for sending the cartridge back to you, don't punish them for sending the cartridge back to someone else.

[Laserpage.com] Printer Sale: Our focus is on helping user get the most from their printer investments. We have tips for buying the right printer for your needs, how to save money on printers and printer supplies, and information about the lastest technologies that affect our businesses and our lives.

[Blog.pricescan.com] PriceSCAN Blog: Can HP Keep Printing Money With Ink Cartridges?: I have used generic black and color cartridges in my HP Officejet v40xi until recently installing it on a new computer. Now it keeps giving an annoying error message to "Remove and check color cartridge" even though it will print just fine.