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U.S. Court: Lexmark Can Tie Rebates To Refills
SteveOU writes "Lexmark won a favorable judgement in its attempt to prevent competitors from refilling its cartridges. The judgement, issued by Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, was a big loss for 'the rest of us,' reading in part "Because of its patents, Lexmark has the right to impose conditions on the sale of its patented product. It may restrict a purchaser's ability to repair it, which is what in essence the single-use condition does." What now? Will GM prohibit unauthorized repairs of its patented car components?"
It is my understanding that the automobile industry tried exactly the same thing with regard to routine maintenance (If you did not get your oil changed at the manufacturers dealership, your warranty was void) and ended up getting in a heap of trouble for it.
Is this not exactly the same thing?
At least for BMW's Mini car here in Spain. If you buy a Mini and try to repair it outside an official BMW/Mini repair shop or install anything that is not officially sanctioned by BMW, your guarantee will be void.
So with that information, either you buy the car or you don't, but you can't hardly complain if they explain this to you when you buy the car. It's their way or the highway, with another car.
So, like with the Lexmark (if they also warn the potential buyer), the choice is in the consumer hands.
j.
That's why I've always used laser printers whenever possible [ok, not always, before lasers were around I used dot matrices]. My big points on a printer are operating costs, speed, and utter dependability. My dear mother had a cow when I told her I spent ~$1500 on a Color LaserJet 4550 ("you spent fifteen hundred on a WHAT?")...but, after realizing how much cheaper it was, she apologized for her fit of rage...
Q: "Why do sound techs say 'check 1, 2'?"
A: "Cause if they could count any higher they'd be lighting techs."
I'm always amazed that magazines don't talk about cartridge costs in their printer reviews, but I think that if everyone just got in the habit of including operating costs in any discussion of printers, the problem would go away on its own.
All the UK magazines seem to print a per page cost for various typical print jobs. Maybe you should look for better magazines?
Of course it seems to have had very little effect on cartridge lockin anyway. Good thing the EU legislated to outlaw refilling restrictions.
I have boycotted Lexmark for some time due to their gouging on refills. I am also proud author of an expose on how to use Samsung cartridges in a Lexmark E210 printer, at 2/3 the cost.
I wonder if use of a Philips screwdriver violates the DMCA? The modification involves removing a tab in the printer that matches a slot in the cartridge casting. I suppose this could be considered a digital rights management device.
I've run a little over 20,000 pages on my CLJ4550 this year...the split on that is about 60%/40% color/grayscale...so, yeah, my "HP Professional Inkjet" was killing me in terms of consumables.
Q: "Why do sound techs say 'check 1, 2'?"
A: "Cause if they could count any higher they'd be lighting techs."
...but you can still call the "dealer" line.
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Just tell them what you think...
http://www.lexmark.com/US/contact_us_detail/0,1
Contact Us
Call Us
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1-800-LEXMARK or 1-800-539-6275
Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST
Closed weekends
Questions before you buy
1-800-LEXMARK or 1-800-539-6275
Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST
Closed weekends
http://www.lexmark.com/US/contact_us_detail/0,1
Contact Us
Authorized Lexmark Dealers
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Single point of contact for new products & information, including: Presales, Ordering, & the Technical Support Center.
Phone: for Inkjet Printers
1-800-332-4120
Phone: for Laser Printers
1-800-LEXMARK (1-800-539-6275)
Technical Support
Dealer can call the Technical Support Center to get help on resolving technical issues involving Lexmark printers.
LexFax For Dealers (Fax on Demand System)
FAQs and Product Information via facsimile.
1-800-4LEXFAX
(1-800-453-9323)
+ Dealer ID
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1-800-253-9627
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I call bullshit.
I have a little OBD-II code reader / clear unit in my glove compartment. Plug it in to an OBD-II vehicle (into the government-mandated owner-accessible standard connector), turn on ignition, watch scanner display any codes. Clear codes.
There are proprietary extensions, but the availability of cheap computer diagnostics makes it easier to repair cars than it was 10-15 years ago. You can identify failing components more easily, or determine if the "Check Engine" light was just set by a fluke condition. Yes, the dealers have sophisticated tools; in many cases, a cheap tool has 90% of the functionality.
Back in the '70s-'80s, a home mechanic needed a good timing light, tach/dwell meter, and a circuit-tester or that exotic device, a multimeter. If you want to work on your own vehicle, you're going to need some tools. Your brother has probably only been trained on dealer-level equipment & procedures. A competent home mechanic can do most of the work on their car. I know, because I do. I've troubleshooted overheating transmissions, ignition problems, failing oxygen sensors. You do have to make an effort to understand what you're changing; just as tuning a '60s 4-barrel carb was very different than tuning a 1-barrel.
The reason why most other companies did not use the higher temperature was that it was well known that those few degrees made the difference between painfully hot and wound-causing hot.
McDonalds bean-counters calculated that they could probaby force people to settle their wilfull-wounding lawsuits for a low enough ammount that it would be exceeded by the increased moarket share. Most customers would not recognize the significance of the difference between the two temperatures until it was far too late. (I.E. they were in hospital).
Quick upshot: McDonalds was wilfully wounding their customers solely to make more profit. The intent of the @2.7 punitive damage award was not to pay off the lady for the cost of her injury. It was to punnish McDonalds for putting profits ahead of safety.This is really No different than a car company putting new thin-walled tires on their car because they look neat and will sell more, but knowing that people will get injured in the resulting blowouts..
In a court case (in Canada) our Supreme Court Justices made it clear that 'informed consent' is not really informed if it is missing information that might cause a reasonable person to change their mind. I think that McDonald's extra few degrees in their coffee and the safety implications of that would classify as such 'pertinent' missing information.
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
Exactly. The Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act of 1974 actually prevents an auto mfg from stipulating which aftermarket parts must be used.
;-)
For example... if you purchase a car from GM and they say "you must use Quaker State oil or else it will void your warranty" that would be in violation of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act of 1974.
Now if they could prove that the vehicle would not function properly without the use of Quaker State oil, then they are legally allowed to stipulate the type of oil (or whatever aftermarket product you are discussing). But again they must be able to prove that by not using this specific aftermarket product the vehicle would cease to properly function.
In my opinion, the same exact logic should apply to this situation. After all it would be nice to have some consistancy in the laws around here!
Vote libertarian (www.lp.org) and buy Amsoil (www.MTOil.com)
Libertas in infinitum