Tired of generic companies reverse engineering and underselling their cartridges, brand name manufacturers have begun to use "technological measures". Generic companies are cutting into the previously monopolized thirty-plus billion dollar industry. Companies like Lexmark are getting desperate to find a solution to this "problem". Lexmark has stooped to new lows, trying to bend the DMCA law to their advantage. In a recent case, the courts have made it clear that they will not tolerate companies that try to bend the law to suit their needs.
Interestingly, the entire case came about because a company, Static Control, came up with a solution to Lexmark's microchip. The microchip, you see, made it difficult to use generic cartridges in Lexmark printers. Before Static Control developed the SmartTek chip, generic cartridges wouldn't work well in Lexmark printers. Static Control has agreed to stop production until the case is settled. The idea that the DMCA has been violated, however, is, to many, a ridiculous accusation.
Many feel that the use of DMCA in this case isn't called for. "We think it's stretching it," said the HP vice president on news.com, "the DMCA was put in place to protect things like movies, music, and software applications." The courts are in agreement with this understanding of the 1998 copyright law. In the 1993 Sega VS Accolade case, the court said: "Where disassembly is the only way to gain access to the ideas and functional elements embodied in a copyrighted computer program and where there is a legitimate reason for seeking such access, disassembly is a fair use of the copyrighted work, as a matter of law."
That being said, it seems unlikely Lexmark will accomplish anything by bringing this case to the courts.
It's not hard to figure out why companies like Lexmark are going out of their way to take generic companies out of the picture. Printer consumables brings in over $30,000,000,000 (thirty billion dollars) a year. It's becoming evident, however, that the courts are tired of large companies trying to bully consumers. In North Carolina, for example, it's illegal to sell a printer that was designed to reject generic cartridges. Basically, that means you can choose to buy high quality, low cost generic ink if that seems to be a better option for you. This article surely explains why there is no reason to underestimate the quality of generic ink and no reason why generic ink companies should undersell their ink.
Peachtree INK specialize in helping consumers to find high-quality printer ink cartridges at the most affordable rates. To find out more about on the subject of cheap printer inks visit us at peachtreeink.com or email us at info@peachtreeink.com
