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New Lexmark suing toner makers under the DMCA
[link|http://news.com.com/2100-1023-979791.html?tag=fd_top|http://news.com.com/...1.html?tag=fd_top]

The legal action escalates what has been a technological cold war, pitting the aftermarket ink and toner industry against printer manufacturers who try to prevent customers from buying products from third parties. In an essay titled "OEM Warfare," Static Control CEO Ed Swartz says: "The OEMs will continue to escalate their technologies to erect barrier after barrier to our industry. Each barrier will require an ever growing amount of time, money, talent and effort to overcome."

Under section 1201 of the DMCA, it is generally unlawful to circumvent technology that restricts access to a copyrighted work.

In a 17-page complaint filed on Dec. 30, 2002, the company claims the Smartek chip mimics the authentication sequence used by Lexmark chips and unlawfully tricks the printer into accepting an aftermarket cartridge. That "circumvents the technological measure that controls access to the Toner Loading Program and the Printer Engine Program," the complaint says. The Toner Loading Program checks toner levels in the cartridge, and the Printer Engine Program controls operations such as paper feed and the actual transfer of the dry ink to paper.
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New So...
That would mean that NOTHING except "GM Dealerships" could sell Petroleum Distillate for GM Brand vehicles... Or "Toyota Dealerships" for Toyota Brand Vehicles... etc... etc...

Wow, looks like we have a HUGE market for GM/Ford?Chrysler/Toyota/Honda/Mitsubishi/<insert *ANY* auto manufacturer> to make TONS of cash...

Wonder if I can get 0% financing for Gasoline too?

This would apply for Oil, Windshield Washer Fluid, Windshield Wipers, Headlights, Tires, Brakes, Exhaust systems, Any aftermarket parts... cause the computer systems now CHECK all that stuff now...


[link|mailto:curley95@attbi.com|greg] - Grand-Master Artist in IT
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry/|REMEMBER ED CURRY!]   [link|http://pascal.rockford.com:8888/SSK@kQMsmc74S0Tw3KHQiRQmDem0gAIPAgM/edcurry/1//|ED'S GHOST SPEAKS!]
Heimatland Geheime Staatspolizei reminds:
These [link|http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberstrategy-draft.html|Civilian General Orders], please memorize them.
"Questions" will be asked at safety checkpoints.
New Can't wait for the LH-thread M/Sloth spark plugs..
New They should be careful.
That case has been in court and lost several times. Locking alternative parts resellers out of the market is a dangerous game. Trying to use DMCA outside its intended purpose to overturn some very old precedent...and if the Judge has any brains will throw this out.
You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! Laurie Anderson

[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
New An even better outcome
Trying to use DMCA outside its intended purpose to overturn some very old precedent...and if the Judge has any brains will throw this out.

An even better outcme would be for the judge to dismiss the charges with prejudice, thereby further weakening the DMCA.
jb4
"They lead. They don't manage. The carrot always wins over the stick. Ask your horse. You can lead your horse to water, but you can't manage him to drink."
Richard Kerr, United Technologies Corporation, 1990
New Creative.
There's been some noise in Australia about the sale of third-party ink cartridges, but the heat has been around cheaper, non-authentic originals that damage the printer. An Epson repair place was quoted in APC a few months ago about how many printers he sees for repair that are almost ruined.

Of course, mentioned along the way was that there is a trend for the cheapest printers to have the most expensive consumables... I, personally, only buy real Canon ink for my BJC-6000, but then I quite deliberately chose a printer with a) separate ink tanks for each colour and b) the cheapest ink. :-)

I've also seen interesting problems with recycled toner cartridges for a HP IID a number of years back. They never ever lasted as long and the toner they filled them with was rarely as good. We got a fuser unit replaced that I'm was very unsure really would have needed to be replaced if we were using real HP cartridges. Admittedly it was a fairly hard working printer and no-one looked after it except me, but still, the genuine cartridges always worked better.

Wade.

Microsoft are clearly boiling the frogs.

New Classic FUD: competitors' parts break HW

The claim that the competition's supplies / parts / repairs /\r\ncomponents break products is a classic FUD angle. It was the standard\r\nline with toner refills in the last decade, it's the standard song and\r\ndance with ink carts today. I suspect it's about 99% bullshit.\r\nReplacement toner/ink vendors will vary in quality, but someone's got to\r\nbe able to compete on price and quality sans marketing and printer\r\ndevelopment costs.

\r\n\r\n

That said, the current printer market is very much based on razer\r\nblades (give away the razor, sell the blades at a premium. Income\r\nstream generation.

\r\n
--\r\n
Karsten M. Self [link|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n
[link|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n
What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n
[link|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n
\r\n
   Keep software free.     Oppose the CBDTPA.     Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n
New Re: Classic FUD: competitors' parts break HW
I was under the impression that the courts had decided that disallowing competitors' replacement parts was illegal, regardless of all the faff about the DMCA...
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New It's FUD, but there's an element of truth there.
I've little doubt that there are third-party ink fillers who don't care if the ink damages the printer. The APC article I mentioned had a picture, IIRC, of just such a damaged Epson print-head. However, some ink-fillers objected saying that they run extensive tests to make sure their ink doesn't damage the printer.

So who to believe? :-) Well, that's the UD of the FUD.

Wade.

Microsoft are clearly boiling the frogs.

New A bigger element of truth than that
The printer makers do what they can to ensure breakage if you don't use their stuff. Often with success.

And then blame that breakage on the people who try to reverse engineer how things work. Often they succeed at that as well.

Kinda the same trick that Microsoft pulls...

Cheers,
Ben
"good ideas and bad code build
communities, the other three combinations do not"
- [link|http://archives.real-time.com/pipermail/cocoon-devel/2000-October/003023.html|Stefano Mazzocchi]
New Re: "ensure breakage if you don't use their stuff"
My wife refilled a black Lexmark cartridge. It seemed to work OK for while and then declared itself dead with plenty of ink in it. I suspect Lexmark meters the flow and decides at some point that the cartridge must be carrying "evil fluids" and balks. The design policy is "Protect the revenue stream!".
Alex

"No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session."\t-- Mark Twain
New Time to hack that Smart Cartridge CMOS: Reset to 0 usage?
New Hmm... Gotta pay attention to this one.
Proposing violation of DMCA. He bears watching.
New Norm, you're already on thin ice.
New So sorry, but thanks for playing!
Nope, not Norm this time. Ask Scott if you don't believe me.

Scott, you have permission to verify who I am from my account.

Besides, I think it's time we took you aside for some, erm, reeducation, homeland security style...
New Oops.. I feel a need to repent, convert, move to Utah: die.
     Lexmark suing toner makers under the DMCA - (admin) - (15)
         So... - (folkert)
         Can't wait for the LH-thread M/Sloth spark plugs.. -NT - (Ashton)
         They should be careful. - (bepatient) - (1)
             An even better outcome - (jb4)
         Creative. - (static) - (10)
             Classic FUD: competitors' parts break HW - (kmself) - (9)
                 Re: Classic FUD: competitors' parts break HW - (admin)
                 It's FUD, but there's an element of truth there. - (static) - (7)
                     A bigger element of truth than that - (ben_tilly) - (6)
                         Re: "ensure breakage if you don't use their stuff" - (a6l6e6x) - (5)
                             Time to hack that Smart Cartridge CMOS: Reset to 0 usage? -NT - (Ashton) - (4)
                                 Hmm... Gotta pay attention to this one. - (John Ashcroft) - (3)
                                     Norm, you're already on thin ice. -NT - (Ashton) - (2)
                                         So sorry, but thanks for playing! - (John Ashcroft) - (1)
                                             Oops.. I feel a need to repent, convert, move to Utah: die. -NT - (Ashton)

Holy cran.
119 ms