HP Brought to Class Action again

HP Brought to Class Action again

HP was brought to a class action for the firmware upgrade issue in its inkjet printers.

On or around April 12, 2019, thousands of HP Printer users in the United States and other countries started experiencing problems and crashes with their HP Printers, since said printers stopped recognizing and accepting third party ink cartridges.

John Parziale, a Florida citizen, is one of those HP printer owners. He purchased an HP Officejet Pro 7740 in September, 2017 and another HP Officejet Pro 7740 on June, 2018. He, and other similarly situated purchasers were not told at the time of purchase that their HP Printer would at some time in the future reject the less expensive third party replacement ink cartridges.

Therefore, on August 27,2019, Parziale brought HP to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, for its illegal, deceptive, and unconscionable actions in violating the privacy rights of hundreds of thousands of individuals nationwide.

The class members alleged that HP has updated a firmware in the printers, intending to force consumers to buy HP-branded ink cartridges, in order to obtain an unfair and illegal competitive advantage.

In fact, this is not the first time HP was brought to class action for firmware issues. In 2016, two U.S.-based law firms, Garrison Davis LLC and Girard Gibbs, had filed class actions against HP for the company’s firmware update. Also in 2018, customers in America asked a California federal court to certify a nationwide class action against HP because “damaged or missing” messages after install third-party ink cartridges.

It seems HP will not stop taking firmware as weapon to fight against aftermarket products. But it won’t be the right way to maintain its market share?

Customers feel cheated by such firmware action, and they have the right to choose which consumable to buy and use. Such lawsuits will definitely damage the brand of HP.

In the short term, firmware upgrade is a threat to the aftermarket. But in the long term, it should be a chance. Aftermarket companies should developed and manufacture good-quality products. As long as the products are good enough but with a lower price, it would still be customer’s choice.

Read more insights of firmware issue:

Firmware Threat Grows More Bold and Vicious

Cartridge Chips Printer Firmware and the Aftermarket

Firmware Updates: Putting the OEMs on Notice about Going Too Far in the Battle with the Aftermarket