Last week, we reported that HP Inc. had filed a Section 337 patent-infringement complaint with the U. International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Memjet and several Memjet OEMs had infringed upon HP page-wide inkjet-printing patents. This week we accessed a public version of the complaint that names the defendants and the allegedly infringed patents.
The extensive litigation began in August 2015, when Memjet filed a patent-enforcement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleging that HP’s PageWide inkjet-printing technology infringed on eight Memjet page-wide inkjet-printing patents. Memjets OEMs its page-wide inkjet printing technology to a variety of manufacturers, including those in the office- and production-printing markets. In August 2015, HP counter-claimed those patents.
The HP complaint filed with the ITC alleges that the following companies unlawfully import into the United States for sale within the United States certain inkjet printers, print heads, and ink cartridges that infringe on one or more HP U.S. patents: patents Nos. 6,270,201, 6,491,377, 6,260,952, 7,004,564, 7,090,343, and 7,744,202.
The following companies are named in the complaint as allegedly violating the HP patents – but among those not named are Canon and Xerox, both of which OEM Memjet pagepwide inkjet-printing. The HP complaint’s respondents identified as violating HP patents include:
Memjet, Ltd. of Ireland
Memjet US Services, Inc. of San Diego, California
Memjet Home and Office, Inc. of Eagle, Idaho
Memjet North Ryde Pty Ltd. of Australia
Memjet Technology Ltd. of Ireland
Memjet Holdings Ltd. of Ireland
Afinia LLC of Chanhassen, Minnesota
Astro Machine Corp. of Elk Grove Village, Illinois
Colordyne Technologies, LLC of Brookfield, Wisconsin
Formax Technologies, Inc. of Dover, New Hampshire
Neopost USA, Inc. of Milford, Connecticut
Printware LLC of Eagan, Minnesota
VIPColor Technologies USA, Inc. of Newark, California
ABC Office of Kaysville, Utah
All for Mailers, Inc. of Feasterville, Pennsylvania
Fernqvist Labeling Solutions, Inc. of Mountain View, California
Information Management Services LLC of Hillsboro, Oregon
JMP Business Systems, Inc. of Clovis, California
Mono Machines LLC of New York, New York
Ordway Corp. of Placentia, California
Pacific Barcode Inc. of Temecula, California
Pacific Code & Label, Inc. of Portland, Oregon
Parts Now! LLC of Madison, Wisconsin
Trademark Copysystems Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio
Vivid Data Group LLC of Dallas, Texas
According to the complaint, the ‘201 patent relates to a high-speed printing system that’s capable of ejecting ink drops with a predictable volume, while the ‘377 patent relates to a printing system with a high density of nozzles for generating ink drops. The ‘952 patent relates to improved electrical connections in an inkjet print head. The ‘564 and ‘343 patents relate to the configuration of a printing-fluid container, such as an ink cartridge. The ‘202 patent relates to the configuration of a printing-fluid container, such as an ink cartridge, in a printer’s ink-transport system.
The complaint specifically refers to various Memjet inkjet printers, print heads, and ink cartridges. It states that the other respondents are either original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that incorporate the Memjet products into their own products, or are distributors of infringing Memjet products.
HP states that its own inkjet printers, print heads, and ink cartridges use the patents, and that it’s has made significant investments in these products in the United States.
In the complaint, HP also states that along with complaint it filed with the ITC, it also filed a complaint against Memjet and others in the U.S. Court for the District of Oregon, alleging infringement of its patents.
More recently, HP’s petition to halt Memjet’s patent-infringement lawsuit against HP in the U.S. District Court for Southern California, pending an ITC review of the patents, was not allowed by the court.
HP is requesting that the ITC issue a permanent general exclusion order, a permanent limited exclusion order, and permanent cease and desist orders directed at the respondents accused of infringing upon its inkjet-related patents.
More Resources
- April 2016: Memjet Objects to HP’s Motion to Stay Memjet Patent-Infringement Lawsuit Pending Review of Memjet Patents by U.S. Patent & Trade Office
- March 2016: HP Seeks to Have Memjet Page-Wide Printing Patent Claims Reviewed by U.S. Patent & Trade Office
- November 2015: German Court Rules HP Wide-Format PageWide XL Printers Infringe on Memjet Patent
- August 2015: Memjet Files Patent-Infringement Lawsuit Against HP, Claims HP Infringed on Page-Wide Printing Patents