October 26, 2004 3:31 PM PDT

Ruling on refilled printer cartridges touches DMCA

By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News

Related Stories

Lexmark wins injunction in DMCA case

 February 27, 2003

Toner company fights DMCA lawsuit

 February 5, 2003

DMCA defendant to stop making chip

 January 10, 2003

Lexmark invokes DMCA in toner suit

 January 8, 2003
In a closely watched case involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal court has ruled that a small North Carolina company can continue selling a chip that makes it possible to use refilled toner cartridges in Lexmark printers.

A federal appeals court overturned on Tuesday a preliminary injunction that barred Sanford, N.C.-based Static Control from selling its Smartek chip.

Static, which sells printer parts and other business supplies, has been defending a lawsuit brought by Lexmark, the No. 2 maker of printers in the United States. The suit claims the Smartek chip violates the DMCA, and Lexmark hopes the case will slam the brakes on the toner cartridge remanufacturing industry and compel consumers to buy its cartridges.

ie8 fix

What's Hot

Discussions

Shared

RSS Feeds

Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.

ie8 fix
  • Recently Viewed Products
  • My Lists
  • My Software Updates
  • Promo
  • Log In | Join CNET