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Lexmark Invokes DMCA in Toner Suit
Rhyas writes "Seems as though Lexmark has decided it wants all the pie when it comes to the printing world, as they are suing a company that does reselling of chips that allow third party toner cartridges to work in Lexmark printers. Cindy Cohn, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said she expected more cases like the one brought by Lexmark. 'We have long said that the DMCA's potential use as an anti-competitive tool has been great,' Cohn said. 'Now we're seeing it happen.'" The European Union is taking action against the practice of embedding chips in printer cartridges which make it difficult for third parties to sell refills.
I wasnt aware that toners were digital media.
"Open the pod by doors, Hal" > "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave" sudo "Open the pod bay doors, Hal" > alright
The European Union is taking action against the practice of embedding chips in printer cartridges which make it difficult for third parties to sell refills.
While passing its own version of the DMCA, ironically enough.
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If the court ruling goes in favour of Lexmark, rather than in favour of common sense (you can put whatever toner you like in your printer, right? It's your printer after all), then the extension of the ruling to other cases is inevitable.
This means that there is the potential for manufacturers of other products that have consumables associated with them (your car, say) to put methods (a funny-shaped fuel filler, say) in to ensure that you can only use their consumables (fuel), and that a circumvention device (plastic funnel) so that you can use other consumables (fuel) will be ruled illegal.
Like car accidents, most hardware problems are due to driver error.
Is there any kind of EULA to which a user must agree before using the printer?
Something such as "By using this printer I agree to only use Lexmark toner etc etc..."?
That's the only way Lexmark's attitude would make sense.
I think unless you prohibit certain potentially anti-DMCA activities at the outset, it's pretty cheesy to go after people later....
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
All the consoles have security measure to prevent just anybody from writing code on them. At least all the way back to the days of NES, where you needed to have a special chip in the cartrige for it to work. So Microsoft isn't any more evil than Nintendo, Sega, or Sony in this issue.
Plus, toner is a diffierent type of product than a video game. With toner, it is a consummable. Once you use the toner, its gone, and you have to buy new toner to continue using the printer. With video games, they last forever (well, assume proper care and the lifespan of the media they are on). You are never forced to buy new games to continue using the console.
"Isn't this fair?"
No it isn't, here's why:
1. It stiffles competetion and takes away basic freedom from the consumer (you can't buy part 1 from manufacturer A and part 2 from manufacturer B).
2. It produces huge amount unnecessary waste.
3. It misleads customers and it makes almost impossible to compare costs of printers during their lifetime.
Luckily, starting from 2006 this kind of practice will be illegal in EU and manufacturers will use standard cartiges.
"The reason Lexmark is pissed is because it sells its printers as a loss leader, and then makes money on the ink cartridges."
That's not an excuse, nobody is forcing Lexmark or anybody else to sell things at loss.
"This is not new. All console makers do the same thing. The XBox costs more than $149 to make, but MS sells them as loss leaders so they can make money on the games. Sony does the same. Nintendo does the same."
Sony and Nintendo doesn't sell their consoles at loss. But price dumping should be illegal also in console market.
"What's different about the printer industry? They're just trying to make their money in the best way possible. After all, it's consumers who have forced them to offer printers as loss leaders rather than having expensive printers and cheap ink."
LOL, "consumers forced"? You propably think that it's the consumers who forced MS to intergrate IE into Windows...
So would it be fair for Ford to require you to purchase Ford-brand tires and the only thing that distiguishes Ford-brand tires from regular tires is a chip that "authenticates" the tires as being Ford. Also, these tires are $3000 for a change of four. Better yet, only being able to buy engine parts that were only Ford-brand and the only that thing distiguishes them is an authetication chip. This is why this law needs to die a bloody death.
HT
We also know Lexmark is only using their interpretation of the DMCA to stifle competition. If nothing else, they figure they can bury the competition with legal bills.
So, let printer prices rise. Then we can have some nice competition among printer makers, as opposed to this mess.
And if people complain? Let them complain. At least the prices they'll deal with will be somewhat more honest, as will the business practices that involve dealing with the customer and the market, not the courts.
"The Sage treasures Unity and measures all things by it" - Lao Tzu
Only if you signed a contract with Ford that stated you would only buy their tires. Otherwise, you own the car and have the right to use whatever tires you want.
I don't have a problem with Lexmark making it technically difficult for competitors. I do have a problem when they use copyright, a government enforced monopoly on the software, to extend that monopoly into another market, i.e. the ink cartridge replacement market.
I feel like picking a fight with everyone who thinks they are right. - Rainmakers
Remember IBM typewriter ribbons?
Yeah, I remember those. And, you know what happened to IBM's printer and typewriter division? That's right, it was spun off into (da da da dum)... Lexmark.
It's not surprising, really.
In Soviet Russia, Jesus asks: "What Would You Do?"
So in the end, I begin to wonder if the printer industry has a business model similar to that of the console gaming industry. (Although I would find it odd if they sold the printers at a loss as consoles often do initially)
I seek not only to follow in the footsteps of the men of old, I seek the things they sought.