Epson Alleges Ink Infringement
Seiko
Epson, Epson America, and Epson Portland have sued several companies
for importing and/or distributing Epson ink cartridges throughout the
United States without a proper license.
In
a complaint filed last week, Epson alleges that a total of 24 companies
are aiding, abetting and knowingly inducing patent infringement by
producing, importing and selling after-market Epson products without
legal consent.
“The list of companies against which we are asserting
patent infringement claims….includes companies that manufacture in
China, Germany, Korea and Mexico, as well as some U.S. companies that
import cartridges,” said Pam Barnett Senior Manager, Public Relations
and Events, Epson America Inc.
According to Epson’s publicly filed
District Court Complaint, the corporation alleges that the following
import companies are infringing on its patents: Glory South Software,
Nectron International, Mipo America, Nine Star Technology, Town Sky
Inc., MMC Consumables, Inkjetwarehouse.com, Ribbon Tree (USA) Apex, Inc
Tec (America), Dataproducts USA, Rhinotek and Acujet.
In addition,
Epson alleges that the following companies do not hold licenses to
manufacture its ink cartridges for resale: Butterfly Print Image, Ink
Lab, Mipo International, Nine Star Image, Zhuhai Gree Magneto-Electric,
Tully Imaging Supplies, Wellink Trading Co., Ribbon Tree (Macao),
Artech GmbH, Ink Tec (Korea) and Master Ink Co.
Some large retail
chains, such as CompUSA and Staples, buy ink from other firms and
resell the ink cartridge — whiich the retailer marks as compatible
with a certain make of printer — under its own house label. But
Epson’s Barnett said it did not know if the companies named in its suit
fell into that category.
“We don’t know where all the major
re-sellers obtain their cartridges but we know the companies named in
the suit are large suppliers of aftermarket cartridges for Epson
printers,” said Barnett. “We believe some resellers may change between
suppliers.”
Epson maintains that the patent infringement has caused
irreparable damages. The company is seeking repayment for past damages
— with interest — as well as attorneys’ fees. In addition, the
company is demanding a jury trial to put a stop to all alleged and
illegal infringement activities, according to officials.