June 29 (Bloomberg) — Canon Inc., the world’s largest maker of cameras and office equipment, filed patent-infringement claims against China’s Ninestar Image International Ltd. and retailers over technology in printer toner cartridges.
The claims target cartridges made by Ninestar and nine affiliated businesses in China and Hong Kong, as well as 10 U.S. companies that sell the products. Canon lodged a complaint yesterday with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington to block imports of the cartridges and filed a companion civil lawsuit in federal court in New York.
Canon, a Tokyo-based company that gets about 28 percent of its revenue from the Americas, contends the Ninestar cartridges infringe two U.S. patents.
The cartridges can be used in Canon and Hewlett-Packard Co. printers, according to the ITC complaint and the lawsuit.
The patents relate to the rotating drums inside the cartridges and how they connect to the printer. Laser beams scan across the drum in a pattern matching the image to be printed and powdery toner sticks to the device before being deposited on the paper, according to the complaint.
Canon said it opened a manufacturing plant last year near Newport News, Virginia, where it plans to produce “millions” of cartridges. The ITC is a quasi-independent agency set up to protect U.S. markets from unfair trade practices, including patent infringement.
Cannon in December settled complaints against companies in Japan, including Ninestar’s Japanese unit, over unauthorized inkjet cartridges. Officials with Ninestar didn’t immediately return an e-mail sent to their U.S. distribution center in City of Industry, California, seeking comment.
The ITC case is In the Matter of Toner Cartridges and Components Thereof, Complaint No. 2743, U.S. International Trade Commission (Washington). The civil suit is Canon Inc. v. Ninestar Image International Ltd., 10cv4999, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Filed under: Blogroll, Industry News | Tagged: Canon, cartridge, cartridges, HP, toner |
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