NotMe wrote:
"Barry Watzman" wrote in message
...
| "If we want our rights as consumers to be protected ...."
|
| The manufacturers do have some rights also. I understand not liking it,
| it makes things more expensive for us as consumers. But the
| manufacturers did put in huge up-front engineering effort to invent
| these things, and the did get patents on their products.
|
|
| Arthur Entlich wrote:
| I replied to this posting as though it was legitimate. It may not be,
| but the problem does exist. Manufacturers of inkjet printers are
| winning injunctions against many 3rd party suppliers, and I have read of
| several just last week with Epson products from legitimate sources.
|
| The mechanisms are the same regardless of the veracity of this
| particular posting below, the availability will suffer as more and more
| 3rd party manufacturers are loaded with fines and other injunctions
| which make the cost of continuing not worthwhile.
|
| If we want our rights as consumers to be protected, so we can purchase
| 3rd party cartridges or ink and fill our printers with them, we need to
| get the countries which have such legislation to start looking carefully
| at the Court decisions coming down and their validity.
|
|
| Art

snip

Most of these are design patents that are very limited in scope. While
design patents have a place the use in this instance is strictly to restrict
competition.

There is no substantial competition making a quality product. They are
protecting themselves from spending money on warranty service that is
not justified and having a fly by night damaging their reputatuon.
With regard to the USA the current political mine set is such that we will
play h*ll securing any consumer protection. Recall the fight over the
pending FCC spectrum auction and the net neutrality?