Lexmark Slapped Down Again In DMCA Suit
Found on Techdirt on Sunday, 20 February 2005
Apparently Lexmark didn't get the message the first time the Sixth Circuit Court explained to Lexmark that they were abusing the DMCA for anti-competitive purposes in trying to stop Static Controls from making ink jet cartridges that work in Lexmark printers. The Court has now told Lexmark that they won't rehear the case and to go away and stop bothering them. There's still some remaining parts of the case to be heard, but this is definitely good news for those who believe the DMCA is regularly being abused for anti-competitive purposes, rather than to protect intellectual property, as it was intended.
To get an idea of the prices, I looked them up for ink jets and cartridges from Lexmark. The cheapest black cartridge was $17.50; Lexmark's cheapest printer was available for $39.05. A new cartridge costs almost 45% of a printer... At some point, it might be a better idea to buy a new printer. But it's also a known fact that included cartridges are not filled completely; they are soon empty. For those interested, the cheapest Lexmark-compatible cartridge was offered for $10.75