Both suits name the same 24 defendants. The ITC complaint--the now-standard venue for taking patent disputes against companies that import goods to the United States--asks that the defendants' products be banned from import and sale in the States. The federal lawsuit asks for an injunction on sales of the disputed products, as well as monetary damages.
This is not the first time Lexmark has battled the aftermarket-printing industry. In 2003, Lexmark famously tried to invoke the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in an attempt to block a toner refill company from making replacement cartridges for Lexmark products.
Lexmark sues 24 cartridge makers over patent infringement
Posted on Wednesday, August 25 2010 @ 18:09 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
CNET spotted that Lexmark is going after 24 laser printer cartridge makers for infringement of 15 patents owned by Lexmark. The company tried the same thing in 2003, but ultimately lost the case in 2005.