Lexmark stops copy-cartridges

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 28 Feb 2003 at 15:38

Lexmark has wielded the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) to win a preliminary injunction to stop a company called Static Control Components (SCC) from selling mod chips that make Lexmark printers accept recycled printer cartridges.

Vincent Cole, Lexmark's general counsel, said: 'We invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually in research and development to help ensure that we are providing the very best technologies and the finest services and support to our valued customers. We believe that our printing solutions and services make us unique, and we intend to vigorously protect the intellectual property that helps to set us apart from our competition.'

The injunction was issued by Judge Karl Forester, in a US District Court, based on DMCA legislation that makes circumventing copyright protection technologies illegal.

Forester said: 'The Court has no trouble accepting SCC's claim that public policy generally favors competition. The Court finds, however, that this general principle only favors legitimate competition. Public policy certainly does not support copyright infringement and violations of the DMCA in the name of competition.'

Lexmark's printers use a system that checks whether or not the inserted ink cartridge is a genuine new Lexmark cartridge and will not accept cheaper recycled ones.

Many printer manufacturers squeeze most of the margin out of hardware sales, to make it up on replacement cartridges. However, it therefore becomes expedient that replacement cartridges are bought from the original manufacturers.

SCC was selling its Smartek chip that duped the printers into believing that recycled cartridges were genuine.

Lexmark contends that its authentication system is a form of copyright protection and that the DMCA legislation, which was originally drawn up to cater for the protection of copyright of digital media, should stretch to this.

However, it was confirmed earlier this week that the DMCA could indeed be stretched to cover a multitude of sins when the DoJ shut down a Web site about mod-chips for Microsoft's Xbox console.