Court denies Lexmark's request to prevent companies from making low-cost, refurbished cartridges for its printers
By James Niccolai, IDG News Service
February 22, 2005
Lexmark International (Profile, Products, Articles) has suffered a setback in its bid to use the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to prevent other companies from making low-cost, refurbished toner cartridges for its printers.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled against Lexmark's request that it reconsider an earlier decision that favored Lexmark's opponent in the case, Static Control Components (SCC), a maker of components used by third parties to make refurbished cartridges.
The earlier decision allowed SCC, in Sanford, North Carolina, to continue selling its chips for Lexmark laser printers at least until the case came to trial, expected later this year. Lexmark had asked the appeals court for a hearing to reconsider that decision, but the appeals court turned down its request on Feb. 15, SCC announced Monday.
The case has been closely watched in the industry, where printer manufacturers make much of their profit through sales of their own cartridges. Refurbished cartridges typically sell for about 30 percent less than those from the major printer vendors.
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http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/02/22/HNlexmarkcase_1.html?source=NLC-TB2005-02-22