HP Loses Suit Over Refilled Ink Cartridges

Hewlett-Packard Co. suffered a courtroom defeat that could limit the company’s ability to stop rivals from refilling and reselling its printer cartridges. The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected HP’s patent lawsuit against Repeat-O-Type Stencil Manufacturing Corp. of New Jersey. The three-judge panel in Washington upheld a lower court ruling that Repeat-O-Type did not infringe on a series of HP patents by selling kits that allow customers to extend the life of HP inkjet cartridges. The decision could hinder HP’s efforts in cases against other office supply companies. The Palo Alto electronics company is trying to ensure that customers buy new printer cartridges and other supplies from it. A spokeswoman for HP could not be reached for comment. The judges said the Repeat-O-Type kits were more like repaired versions of the patented product, which are permissible under federal patent laws, than reconstructed products, which are illegal. However, the judges left intact a lower court ruling that Repeat-O-Type violated HP trademarks in packaging its products. Repeat-O-Type did not appeal that aspect of the ruling. Shares of HP fell 25 cents to close at $67.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.