Yes, yes. I know. There are a LOT of lists this time of year: Santa’s naughty or nice list, shopping lists, lists of the year’s top movies and music.

But the year’s end is the perfect time to look back and reflect, and so every December I compile a list of the year’s top 10 stories on Action-Intell.com. Looking back at what our readers were busy reading in 2018 reveals what problems, topics, and trends were top of mind for those in the printer and supplies business.

Top 10 Stories of 2018

1. Canon Causes Another Cataclysm: OEM Sues Numerous Aftermarket Firms for Patent Infringement
2. Will U.S. Impose Tariffs on Printer Consumables Made in China?
3. Dell to Stop Selling Dell-Branded Printers
4. LD Products Speaks Out on Canon Litigation
5. German Magazine Says Static Control Marketed Contaminated Compatibles
6. Clover Quick to React to Canon’s Toner Cartridge Lawsuits
7. Canon Indicates Ninestar Cartridges Featuring New Dongle Gear Workaround Do Not Infringe
8. HP Sends Cease-and-Desist Letters to German Remanufacturers
9. The State of the Hard Copy Industry in 2018
10. Canon Sues Kostland over Infringement of JetIntelligence Patent

If this year had an overarching theme it was Canon on the warpath. The OEM kept busy filing litigation around the world and working directly with online marketplaces like Amazon to get infringing toner cartridges taken down in hopes of boosting its own—and HP’s—share of the replacement toner cartridge market. The news that Canon had commenced another Section 337 investigation with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to protect its toner cartridge patents was huge news in 2018. A whopping four of our top 10 stories relate to the investigation. Actionable Intelligence’s number-one story of 2018 is our initial coverage of Canon’s ITC complaint and the parallel patent-infringement lawsuits in federal district court. Our fourth, sixth, and seventh most popular stories share a common focus: the different ways remanufacturers and new-build makers reacted to the Canon litigation. U.S.-based remanufacturing giant Clover Imaging Group, which was not implicated in the action, used news of the Canon litigation to promote its own products as “IP safe.” Meanwhile, China-based new-build makers and sellers implicated in the litigation, like Ninestar and LD Products, rushed to bring new products to market and obtained statements from Canon that the new designs did not infringe. Our tenth most popular story of the year pertains to a separate toner cartridge lawsuit that Canon filed against Kostland shortly before the broader ITC action in February.

Our second most popular article of 2018 focused on another hot topic in 2018: the U.S./China trade war. Ultimately, the United States decided to impose tariffs on a broad array of products, including some printer consumables. Over the year, tariffs were the focus of numerous articles on Action-Intell.com. For the latest on the topic, follow our tag: trade war.

Rounding out our list of the most popular stories was our third most popular article about Dell’s decision to stop selling Dell-branded printers after 15 years in the business, our fifth most popular article about a German report that said a small sample of cartridges sold by Static Control contained contaminated plastic, and our eighth most popular article about HP sending out cease-and-desist letters to firms selling remanufactured inkjet cartridges in Germany.

I was especially pleased to see our number-nine article of the year was on our recent webinar, “The State of the Hard Copy Industry in 2018.” If you want a brief rundown of Actionable Intelligence’s view of the industry, we encourage you to view a recording of the presentation or download the presentation.

The past year was a great—albeit busy—one for Actionable Intelligence. One big change for us this year was a new and significantly improved website. I hope our readers find the new website to be faster, easier to use, and as informative as ever. We’re approaching 4,000 posts!

As 2018 comes to a close, I’d like to thank the small but mighty Actionable Intelligence team: Charles Brewer, who founded the company and has such deep insight into the industry; Dan Headrick and Marisa Mogni, who tirelessly create great content; and Melanie Merritt, our social media guru. Thank you, team Actionable Intelligence!

And my biggest thank you is to Actionable Intelligence’s subscribers. Last year, I called you “the smartest, most loyal, most outspoken bunch.” All that still holds true. In 2018, you challenged us, informed us, and helped us to bring you the news you need most. We couldn’t keep Actionable Intelligence running without you!

Best wishes from the Actionable Intelligence team to yours for a successful 2019!

—Christina Bonadio, Executive Editor, Actionable Intelligence