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Antitrust lawsuit involving printer cartridges
19/12/2007 18:08
Office products retailer Staples and office equipment manufacturer HP have been accused of breaching antitrust laws based on the sale of third-party printer cartridges, it has emerged.
Based on the allegation that HP paid the office products supplier over $100 million (£49.8 million) to ensure that it refrained from selling cheaper, third-party inkjet cartridges, a US man has filed a lawsuit with Boston's district court.
Research behind the claim has not yet been revealed by Ranjit Bedi, who is suing this office supplies retailer for breaking marketing laws under the Sherman Act and Clayton Act, Reuters reports.
The filed suit refers to the use of "market development funds" in "an illegal agreement between competitors to stop competing", the news agency notes.
Third-party manufacturers of printer cartridges have been a thorn in the side of leading office equipment manufacturers since they are able to sell replacement cartridges for their printer models at a fraction of the price.
HP, Epson and Lenovo are among the office machines suppliers who have attempted to use either legal patents or the digital millennium copyright act to crush third-party manufacturers of inkjet cartridges, reports ars technica.
Brother recently won a legal case against Dynamic Supplies following the retail of printer drum units in the name of the former, despite the office products having a different specification to Brother's own-branded printer drum units, reports Innovative Solutions.
At Paperstone we can supply your firm with a wide selection of printer supplies.
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