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Court bans importer from selling recycled ink cartridges
TOKYO, FEB 06
The Intellectual Property High Court banned an importer from selling recycled ink cartridges for ink-jet printers on Tuesday in line with a demand by Canon Inc., the patent holder of the type of cartridges.
The court ruled the patent holder is eligible to demand that the sale of the recycled product imported from China by Tokyo-based distributor Recycle Assist Co. is barred, saying that the product contained a key part of the patented invention that had been altered.
The court also ordered the importer, in line with Canon’s demand, to dismantle its inventory.
The high court ruling comes as a reversal to a December 2004 Tokyo District Court ruling that rejected Canon’s demand.
The district court had said the recycling process merely involved repairs of old cartridges and did not include production of its parts, which would infringe on the patent right.
A Canon official welcomed the court decision as an appropriate ruling that had acknowledged the company’s arguments.
Canon says the product, in which non-Canon made ink is refilled into emptied and cleaned Canon-made cartridges, violates its patent right.
Makers sell different types of ink-jet printers. Canon’s cartridge employs the so-called bubble-jet method to spray ink onto paper. Canon has patents for the ink cartridge itself as well as for its production method. The inside of Canon’s cartridge is designed in a particular way to prevent ink from leaking during distribution.
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