Yes, HP will still sue you if you make cartridges for its inkjet printers

Claims fresh court wins in Germany and Poland

HP is trumpeting new victories in its longstanding war against makers of ink cartridges that work in its inkjet printers, having scored recent legal wins in Germany and Poland.

The dead-tree-coloring king said on Tuesday that it had closed two separate lawsuits with German firm BestUse, which failed to mount any kind of defense and now must pay HP's legal fees, in addition to disclosing information about its upstream suppliers.

In one suit, HP had argued that BestUse's inkjet cartridges violated HP's patents on ink-spraying tech, while the other suit alleged that BestUse had falsely marketed newly made cartridges as "remanufactured."

Turning aside from the German front, HP's patent attorneys have also scored significant wins in Poland. The printer maker has named six businesses that it says have agreed not to sell patent-infringing cartridges, including manufacturers or resellers of cartridges sold under the brands Accura, ePrimo, Expression, Modecom, and Printe.

"Upon being contacted by HP, each of these companies confirmed that the HP patents are valid and enforceable," HP said, "that the products are covered by these patents and that the company would cease from offering or selling products in Poland and other countries where those patents are registered."

A seventh company, Warsaw-based Action, has agreed to abide by previous commitments not to sell cartridges that work in HP printers, which stemmed from a lawsuit that concluded in 2012. As a result, it will recall cartridges that it had earlier marketed under the brand names Actis and ActiveJet.

HP was reimbursed for its court costs in all of these cases.

The ink-squirting giant isn't done yet, though. It says it plans to continue its ongoing legal action against Black Point, another Polish firm, which it sued for infringing patents related to HP's integrated print head inkjet cartridges.

"HP remains committed to ensuring its investments in high technology products and intellectual property remain protected, and thus HP continues to be a differentiated supplier of innovative printing solutions to its customers," HP intellectual property enforcer Matthew Barkley said in a statement. ®