Latest Epson Lawsuit Accuses Four of Patent Infringement
June 21, 2007
Epson filed a patent infringement lawsuit on in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore., against a large wholesale distributor and three internet retailers of ink cartridges. The complaint, filed by Epson Portland Inc., Epson America Inc., and Seiko Epson Corp. alleges that these four companies infringe a total of 18 patents that cover cartridges for Epson’s desktop and large-format inkjet printers. Epson seeks both permanent injunctions against continuing infringements and compensatory damages.
The wholesale distributor of printer supplies named in the suit is Cartridges Are Us Inc. dba cartridgesareus.com of Ithaca, Mich. The internet retailers are: E-Babylon Corp. dba 123inkjets.com, a
subsidiary of Valueclick Inc. of Westlake Village, Calif.; Linkyo Corp. dba supermediastore.com of City of Industry, Calif.; and PrintPal Inc. dba printpal.com of Medford, Ore.
“Epson will continue taking enforcement action at whateverlevel of distribution may be required to prevent unfair competition,”said Liz Leung, Epson America’s Director of Supplies Marketing. “We have observed that some resellers are still trying to grow sales without apparent concern about liability for patent infringement. Resellers should be mindful that patent infringements can result in very substantial compensatory damages. We also urge resellers to be especially cautious regarding claims that cartridges offered to them are “patent free.” It is easy to make claims that cartridges do not infringe, but those claims do not provide a defense against damage claims for the resale of infringing cartridges.”
