HP Launches Ink Patent Violation Manhunt

BlueCup writes to tell us that Hewlett-Packard has deployed a large team consisting of many scientists and many more lawyers looking for possible ink patent infringement. With more than 4,000 patents on their ink formulations and cartridge design and a market share of more than 50 percent in the US HP depends heavily on the sale of ink to make profit after sometimes selling their printers at a loss in order to lock in the ink resale.

Comments

Perhaps..

[ackthpt]

Hewlett-Packard has deployed a large team consisting of many scientists and many more lawyers ... [HP have] a market share of more than 50 percent in the US HP depends heavily on the sale of ink to make profit after sometimes selling their printers at a loss in order to lock in the ink resale.

Two days ago I was attempting to print a B&W document on my HP inkjet printer and it paused .. printed a line and paused .. then stuck. I form-fed the sheet it had stalled on and found a large amount (at HP rates, about $4 worth) of ink pooled on the paper, as if it had taken a widdle and forgot where it was before this well-timed potty break. After cancelling the print job and powering down and up again the printer, I tried again. Same results. Perhaps they could explain why this is happening.

It's simple, sir, HP depend upon your regular purchase of ink and you haven't bought enough recently to ensure sustained profits. It's another of our patented business processes. Get out and buy some more, there's a good chap.

Re:Perhaps..

[XnavxeMiyyep]

And $120 every three years!

Re:Perhaps..

[briggsb]

Well HP recently rewrote windows to make their drivers compatible.

Re:Perhaps..

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey now, you guys quit waving that fancy college education around in front of everyone!!

Down with software patents!

[rackhamh]

This just goes to show that software should not be paten... oh. Nevermind.

Already found several culprits

[Anonymous Coward]

I hear the crack HP legal team has already filed lawsuits against several species of squid and octopus!

Re:Meaning what?

[rackhamh]

So you want all patents gone?

What I really want is a pony. But failing that, I'll settle for people laughing at my jokes. ;)

Re:So what printer maker isn't a scumbag?

[Quiet_Desperation]

Which printer maker is not a patent-enforcing-drm-encoding bastard, so that I can toss out my current printers and buy theirs instead?

Bic.

Here's their latest non DRM-ed model: Printer with sample printout

Re:This business model leads to bizarre situations

[rodgster]

Is the ink cartridge half full or half empty?

Re:This business model leads to bizarre situations

[Jtheletter]

Is the ink cartridge half full or half empty?

As an engineer I'm inclined to say it's improperly designed!

Re:Octopus?

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope, I checked and HP has a patent on the Octopus going back to early on during the mid-Triassic stage where they had a broad patent on all cephalopods. I can't send you the patent as it is written on stone tablets and would clog up the tubes.

Inkjet Ink vs Good Booze

[HungWeiLo]

HP Ink for a DeskJet model - $20 / 11 milliliters = $1.82 per milliliter
Dom Perignon - $145 / 750 milliliters = $0.19 per milliliter

Re:Disposable Razor IS bad

[Copid]

Ding! That's the solution I opted for years ago, and I've never looked back. As a general rule of thumb (with the exception of professional grade inkjets that graphics shops use):

Inkjet printers are designed to do one thing and one thing only: They turn full ink cartridges into empty ones. Any printing that is done in the process is incidental.

Once mankind comes to terms with this fact and decides that the companies that design and sell them should not be rewarded, life will be better for all.