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Los Alamitos, CA—Epson America Inc., Epson Portland Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp. filed two patent infringement complaints on April 10 and 11 against resellers of remanufactured printer cartridges.
The lawsuits were filed against Creek Manufacturing and Service Watch Systems, Planet Green Cartridges, Inc., and Image Armor, I-Group Technologies.
“We are encouraged that Epson’s enforcement programs have resulted in increased compliance on top Internet marketplaces and have significantly altered the landscape for infringing cartridge sales,” said Jilana Miller, assistant general counsel, Epson America.
“However, we continue to address the persistent culture of infringement and unfair competition perpetrated on Internet marketplaces and through other channels. These recent complaints demonstrate Epson’s continued commitment to addressing infringement in the commercial and consumer markets, and the problem of remanufactured cartridges which infringe intellectual property rights and impact fair competition.
Lawsuits against Remanufactured Printer Cartridges Resellers
The Epson complaints allege infringement of claims from U.S. Patent No. 8,454,116. These patent claims were adjudicated in well-publicized actions filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC). This resulted in a General Exclusion Order barring the importation of all infringing newly built and remanufactured cartridges.
Further, the two lawsuits underscore Epson’s continuing enforcement efforts against infringing sellers of remanufactured large-format printer cartridges as well as consumer cartridges using third-party infringing circuit boards.
Epson’s concerted campaign is focused on protecting its intellectual property. It also focuses on ensuring legitimate resellers can compete fairly for sales of Epson printer supplies.
Epson has a history of legal action to protect it, consumers as well as legitimate resellers from unfair competition. These two recent lawsuits supplement the company’s earlier enforcement efforts. They seek permanent injunctions against further infringements, as well as monetary damages, for extensive sales of patent infringing cartridges.
What’s more, Epson’s enforcement program includes a range of efforts. They address patent and trademark infringement throughout the distribution and sales channels. It does so by obtaining General Exclusion Orders through the ITC, as well as raids and seizures of counterfeit product. It also practices regular enforcement through online marketplaces such as Alibaba, Amazon and eBay.