Hewlett-Packard wages patent infringement war against ink cartridge sellers

[mandy]

H-P's ink-cartridge business acts as a powerful annuity for the company. The technology titan, which has a market share of 50 percent in the U.S. and more than 4,000 patents on its ink formulations and cartridge design, often sells its printers at a loss, then essentially locks customers in when they have to repeatedly come back to buy replacement ink cartridges...

To protect this franchise, increasingly under attack from rivals, H-P could sue any ink makers it suspects are infringing on its patents. This month, it sued China's G&G Ninestar Image Co., a cartridge manufacturer, alleging G&G had violated seven H-P patents in cartridge design. The complaint also targets four online retailers. H-P also asked the International Trade Commission to open an investigation against Ninestar. A Ninestar spokeswoman said the company had no comment.

This latest suit follows other actions over the past year. In June, H-P said retailers Walgreen Co. and OfficeMax Inc. had infringed on H-P ink patents with ink used at in-store ink-cartridge-refilling stations;...

full article: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articleArchi...stsink.php

[xppman]

If these mega companies would just quit trying to price gouge everyone
and make a decent product and sell it at a fair price,
they wouldn't need to cry fowl all the time.

I used to have and old HP but threw it out last year
when it got harder to find ink cartridge's and the refill kits
wouldn't work on the new cartridges I was able to find.
(Most ink refills kits don't seem to work any more on many brands)

I have a little Lexmark printer now.
Cost 29.95 to purchase...
Comes with both new black and color ink cartridges.

To purchase replacement ink 19.95 just for black 29.95 for a color cartridge.

Hello...
I'd be better off buying a printer every time the ink gets low...
But what am I to do with 6 to 8 extra printers a year?

Seems to be this way with a lot of products these days.

NEW Dewalt cordless drills 89.95 for an 18v w charger, carrying case
and 2 two new batteries.
1 ONE replacement battery.  59.95.
WHAT? 
Now I use cheap 29.95 or less cordless drills that look and work
like they were built in the same factory in China as the name brands.
Same battery life, same performance.. at a fraction of the cost.

Same goes for table saws, belt sanders and other power tools.
I can go purchase "name brands" for 200.00 or more and they
burn up just as fast as the 79.95 brands.

So why pay more when I KNOW all these units are all being built
using the same motors and materials in the same overseas factories?

The point I'm trying to make is that the NAME BRANDS quality
(at least in many areas I've encountered)
over the years has diminished to the point that there is no benefit
to keep purchasing products any paying top dollar for them..
simply because of a logo or NAME on the casing.

I did purchase a new Bostich air gun recently over a model that was like 20-25 less.
That's because the last one that finally died... lasted me 12 years of continuous use.

It seems to me that all these US companies who have defected
and crying fowl now, that use cheep labor abroad are coming full circle.

The same factories they now us to manufacture their products
are also competing directly with them with their
own knock of brands.

Now who the hell should the HP's, Dewalts, and other mega companies blame for that?  :

[BellisimaJ.]

Great post, Xp. You said it all!!

This is a hot button for me also.       In the ink wars, my solution was to purchase  a pro Epson printer, which uses individual cartridges for each color. I have the ability to change each color individually---i.e.;when one runs out, I replace it without having to replace ALL of the color cartridges. Due to this factor, my ink costs are still lower than when I ran the HP!
I pay approx $20 for each cartridge, and the thing uses black plus 6 color cartridges.
Still too much money, but better than the constant purchase of expensive cartridges for HP.