Lexmark attacks patent infringement on two fronts

Replacement printer cartridges provided by two dozen companies infringe US patents owned by Lexmark International, according to a complaint filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on August 20.

Lexmark filed the patent infringement complaint against 24 respondents based in the US and China. The respondents are engaged in the manufacture, importation and sale of replacement cartridges for various Lexmark laser printers and multifunction devices.

The complaint, in accordance with Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, alleges that the replacement cartridges infringe 15 US patents owned by Lexmark. It states: “Lexmark seeks as relief a general exclusion order, or alternatively, a limited exclusion order, barring from entry into the United States infringing toner cartridges and/or components thereof.

“Lexmark also seeks as relief, cease and desist orders prohibiting the domestic sale, offer for sale, advertising, packaging, or the solicitation of any sale of toner cartridges and/or components thereof encompassed by the claims of the patents-in-suit.”

Lexmark has also filed a similar patent infringement complaint in the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The August 20 filing is against the same defendants named in the ITC complaint and covers similar Lexmark patents. The district court complaint also alleges that Lexmark patents have been infringed by the defendant’s replacement cartridges.

It states: “[T]he [replacement] cartridges [use] the same patented technology that is found in the Lexmark genuine toner cartridges. Defendants have copied Lexmark’s genuine toner cartridges for a particular model and [used] the patents-insuit that cover the same patented components found in Lexmark’s genuine toner cartridges.”

Lexmark hopes the district court complaint will provide injunctive relief, monetary damages and attorneys’ fees.