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posted by n1 on Tuesday May 30 2017, @09:15PM   Printer-friendly
from the think-of-the-poor-rent-seeking-monopolists dept.

HotHardware.com reports:

Score one for the little guys. In a precedent-setting decision handed down this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a company's patent rights are forfeited once they sell an item to a consumer under the "first sale" doctrine. This idea was central to Impression Products, Inc. v Lexmark Int'l, Inc. and is a major blow to companies that sell their printers for (relatively) low prices and then recoup any losses on the sale of expensive ink and toner cartridges. [...]

"Extending the patent rights beyond the first sale would clog the channels of commerce, with little benefit from the extra control that the patentees retain," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. In his opinion, Chief Justice Roberts contended that Lexmark's heavy-handed approach to discouraging cartridge remanufacturers only emboldened them to find new and innovative ways to circumvent the company's defenses.

ABA Journal reports:

A patent holder that restricts the reuse or resale of its printer ink cartridges can't invoke patent law against a remanufacturing company that violates the restriction, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

The court ruled that Lexmark International's patent rights are exhausted with its first sale of the cartridges, despite restrictions it tried to impose.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the opinion (PDF), joined in full by six justices. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch didn't participate in the case.

Additional coverage by Consumerist.

Doesn't the Supreme Court care how many lawyers this will put out of work? Think of the Lawyers! And the effect on commerce for those selling ink at $8,000 a gallon.


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  • (Score: 2) by Unixnut on Tuesday May 30 2017, @09:50PM (5 children)

    by Unixnut (5779) on Tuesday May 30 2017, @09:50PM (#517907)

    > Wouldn't you rather buy a (lets suppose) $200 printer once, and then inexpensive ink so that you could afford to print as much as you like?

    Thing is, you can already do that. The $200 printers never went away, you can still buy them, and they will happily take third party/refilled ink all day long.

    I bought an Epson 1500W a while ago for around that price, and not only can you load it with any ink you want, you can get CISS system [wikipedia.org] for a bit extra, and then you can just buy bottles of ink cheaply.

    I did the setup as I started printing a lot recently (primarily photos), so depends on your needs and how much you print. The option never went away, but a lot of cheaper printers came about to be sold as loss leaders.

    I do find it odd however that you need a court to grant a person the "right" to refill a bottle they own with a liquid they own as well, about a surreal as being told I can't refill my coffee makers water tank with my own water unless the supreme court rules on it.

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday May 30 2017, @10:03PM

    ...about a surreal as being told I can't refill my coffee makers water tank with my own water unless the supreme court rules on it.

    The day they try this, look to the news for a mass shooting at the Newell Brands HQ in Hoboken, New Jersey. That will be my fifteen minutes of fame.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 30 2017, @10:23PM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday May 30 2017, @10:23PM (#517926) Journal

    "The $200 printers never went away,"

    You're both right, and wrong. For you, who knows about printers, there were always options. But, you'll admit that printers, the sales, service, and maintenance of printers, have gotten just a bit complicated. The average consumer goes into Walmart, in need of a printer. Walmart doesn't have a lot of options, and most of those options are the dirt cheap options. So, Sally Q. Consumer compares the features of what is available, and opts for Brand X, which costs her about 50 bucks. She uses up all the ink supplied with the thing, goes back to Walmart, and finds that the ink costs 75 or 100 bucks. If Sally is lucky, she complains to the right person, who informs her that she can get a much better quality printer for 200, and refill it every year for about 20 dollars. If Sally is less lucky, she either pays for the overpriced ink, or she just throws away the printer, and buys a new one with it's supply of ink.

    I'm about halfway between you and Sally. I really don't understand WHAT makes one printer better quality than another. But, I do know who to ask.

    • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Wednesday May 31 2017, @03:48AM (1 child)

      by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Wednesday May 31 2017, @03:48AM (#518083) Journal

      The average consumer goes into Walmart, in need of a printer.

      The average consumer is an idiot. But let's go with your scenario for a second.

      So, Sally Q. Consumer compares the features of what is available, and opts for Brand X, which costs her about 50 bucks. She uses up all the ink supplied with the thing, goes back to Walmart, and finds that the ink costs 75 or 100 bucks.

      And Sally rightly feels it is ridiculous that a bottle of ink costs $75. So, if Sally has just a tiny bit of sense, she might do a quick internet search for printer reviews, and realize that this cartridge thing is a scam for most printers. And then when she shops for her next printer, she can just look up a price for a cartridge online BEFORE she buys a printer.

      I don't think it requires much specialized knowledge about printers to figure this out. Granted, many consumers get fooled by this the first time they buy a printer.

      Also, Walmart doesn't just offer a line of rip-off cheap inkjet printers. A quick search shows me they offer a lot of laser [walmart.com] models, for example (many not that pricey), and if you happen to click on one, it likely will show you the toner cartridge and price among its suggested items list.

      So yeah, if Sally is 70 years old and doesn't understand how to do an internet search or read reviews online, I can understand how she might not be able to figure out that it's possible to buy a printer with a cheaper refill. Do such people exist? Yes. But it's not as hard as a chance encounter with "complaining to the right person" anymore.

      • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Wednesday May 31 2017, @05:41AM

        by mhajicek (51) on Wednesday May 31 2017, @05:41AM (#518130)

        Or get the cheap printer on clearance for $20 or $30 with ink in it every time it runs dry. Comes with a free scanner too.

        --
        The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
  • (Score: 2) by mhajicek on Wednesday May 31 2017, @05:37AM

    by mhajicek (51) on Wednesday May 31 2017, @05:37AM (#518127)

    They've already tried coffee makers that will only take a certain brand of coffee.

    --
    The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek