Arguing between HP and 123inkt seems to continue in firmware updates.

The quarrel between HP and the webshop 123inkt.nl seems to be continued in firmware updates. According to 123inkt, HP has rolled out an update for 25 different models of HP Officejet printers, which means that the printer no longer accepts private label cartridges from the web shop.

123inkt claims to have suddenly received complaints over the past few days about the malfunctioning of the company’s newly installed private label cartridges in HP printers. HP’s own research of the webshop shows that HP has rolled out an automatic firmware update at the printers.

As a result, new private label cartridges may no longer be accepted worldwide. After replacing the cartridge, users will see an error message: “Problem with the cartridge. One or more cartridges appear to be damaged. However, according to 123inkt, there is nothing wrong with the cartridges.

123inkt states that HP has deliberately rolled out the updates, with the aim of keeping the private label cartridges out of the webshop. The update should also lead users to believe that these cartridges are of poorer quality, according to the company. HP says that the updates can be carried out because the branded printer packages are marked with a message that cartridges without an HP chip may not work. It also says that cartridges that work now may not work in the future.

Fight

The HP update follows the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this week that an HP patent on a chip on printer cartridges is invalid. In 2014, HP claimed that 123inkt’s private label cartridges infringed a patent because the chips on those cartridges had too many similarities.

Then the manufacturer went to court, but lost the case. In 2017, 123inkt was vindicated in an appeal and HP appealed in cassation. With the ruling of the Supreme Court, the patent dispute apparently came to an end.

In a statement, HP said it disagreed with the verdict. “HP has successfully applied the same European patent in other countries. We study the ruling to understand the basis of the decision, especially since the court considers our patent to be valid.”

Solution

123inkt says that customers who use the affected printers have been informed of the situation by e-mail. The webshop also contacted the chip manufacturer of the cartridges to solve the problem. The manufacturer has confirmed the problem and claims to have received reports from all over the world.

According to the webshop, we succeeded in developing a new chip for our own brand cartridges. These are now in production and are expected next week. The no more working cartridges of customers can then be exchanged.