A Done Deal: Epson v. Ninestar Laid to Rest as Ninestar Signs Consent Judgment
February 14, 2012 No Comment
In January, news broke that after years of seemingly ceaseless litigation before the International Trade Commission (ITC), the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, Epson and Ninestar had reached a settlement agreement (see “Peace in Our Time: Epson and Ninestar Settle–Almost”). At [...]
On February 8, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (ITC’s) decision to fine Ninestar Technology $11.1 million for violating the commission’s orders barring the importation of certain third-party Epson-compatible cartridges into the United States. The ITC meted out the fine, one of the largest ever [...]
Over the past year, we have written much about U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation 337-TA-723, “Certain Inkjet Cartridges with Printheads and Components Thereof,” brought by HP against Asia Pacific Microsystems (APM) of Taiwan, MicroJet Technology of Taiwan, PTC Holdings of Taiwan, Mextec (doing business as Mipo America) of Miami, FL, Mipo Technology of Hong [...]
Last fall, Collins Ink, an ink manufacturer that makes the vast majority of the ink used in Kodak Versamark devices, announced it was severing its ink supply agreement with Kodak out of concern about Kodak’s financial condition (see “Collins Ink Ends Exclusive Reseller Agreement with Kodak”). In October, Kodak filed suit against Collins Ink in [...]
Settlement Agreements in Lodsys’s Printer OEM Patent-Infringement Complaint
January 30, 2012 No Comment
Lodsys, a patent-licensing company, burst onto the news cycle in 2011 when it targeted numerous big-name companies in four patent-infringement lawsuits filed in the notoriously plaintiff-friendly U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The outcry against Lodsys, which many decreed to be a patent troll, reached a fever pitch when Lodsys targeted various [...]
On January 23, 2012, Canon Inc. along with its Canon U.S.A. and Canon Virginia subsidiaries filed complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against numerous third-party supplies vendors including what is presumably the world’s largest, Clover Holdings, and several of its subsidiaries. In addition, the Canon companies filed a grievance [...]
We learned on January 23 that one of the industry’s most closely-followed legal battles may be coming to a close. In a brief, 162-word post on its website, Recharger Magazine broke the news that Seiko Epson Corp. and certain Epson subsidiaries appear to have reached a settlement with their long-time foes, Ninestar Technology Company, Ltd., and its subsidiaries. A Law360 post confirms the report and [...]
In the United States, the third-party supplies industry has seen Canon aggressively pursue lawsuits related to its toner cartridge patents (for some recent examples, see Canon v. Ninestar [2010] and 337-TA-731 and Canon v. Color Imaging et al. [2011]). In Japan, however, Canon has been busy defending its inkjet patents against infringement by third-party competitors. [...]
At Actionable Intelligence, we write about numerous lawsuits related to printers and supplies. It is not glamorous, but it is an important part of providing news and analysis of the industry today. So imagine our thrill on learning of a printer industry lawsuit with a touch of Hollywood glamour. On January 11, Ben Stein, a [...]
Back in early 2010, Town Sky, a former Ninestar distributor, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California. Epson was appointed one of Town Sky’s creditors, and in September the bankruptcy court granted Epson’s motion and ordered that Nano Pacific Corp., Ninestar Technology Company Ltd. (Ninestar [...]