PIs recruited to authenticate Epson cartridges

Epson Australia is following through on a global push to deter counterfeit copies and patent infringements of the ink and cartridge technology used in Epson inkjet printers with the help of private investigators.

In the A/NZ region, Epson will be going as far as employing private investigators to trace sales of possible counterfeit cartridges and help prosecute offenders. It will also look at imported non-genuine cartridges being sold as compatible with Epson printers to see if they violate any patents.

This follows Epson’s successful international actions on patent infringements with five suppliers of aftermarket printer supplies and their related companies.

Among the settling defendants are three major manufacturers of aftermarket printer supplies, Artech GMBH of Germany, Ink Lab of Hong Kong, and InkTec of Korea. The list of offenders includes two US distributors of aftermarket printer supplies, Inkjetwarehouse.com Inc. of Connecticut and Rhinotek Computer Products of California.

As part of the US District Court settlements and proposed ITC consent orders, each of the defendants has acknowledged the validity and infringement of at least 10 Epson patents and agreed to cease importing a wide range of infringing cartridges for Epson desktop inkjet printers.

While no Australian supplier has been listed, Mike Pleasants, director of marketing Communications for Epson Australia, said it does not and never has licensed third party companies to make and sell ink or cartridges for Epson printers.

Epson will not hesitate to take legal action against any reseller if they are found to have sold counterfeit Epson inkjet cartridges to customers he said.