Lexmark Goes To Court

Okay, how weird is this? Apparently, according to a Ninth Circuit court ruling this week in a case called ACRA vs. Lexmark, it was ruled that when you ignore the terms on the side of your printer cartridge box (the one that says "Single use only" and "If you open this package, you agree to whatever we say") you're breaking the law.

It's pretty unlikely, of course, that if you try to refill a Lexmark cartridge there'll be a knock on the door by the Printer Police. More likely is that the folks who sold you the refill kit will get a knock on the door from a lawyer citing them for inducing patent infringement.

Considering how difficult it is to read those agreements (especially for somebody with fast-aging eyes), and how much this boxes you into a corner -- if you don't agree, are you supposed never to buy a cartridge for your printer? -- I've got to say, I don't like this decision much.

(This is, of course, an off-the-cuff opinion. My lawyer friends will immediately, and rightly, chide me for not reading the court's decision, and all the attendant paperwork, before saying anything about it. But still....)

The Latest IP Crime: "Box-Wrap" Patent Infringement