Canon Issues Lawsuits Over Cartridge Disassembly —Summit Called for European Remanufacturers

Barcelona, Spain 26 November 2014—Global imaging giant Canon is taking aftermarket cartridge remanufacturers and distributors to court in the UK and Europe simply because they dismantled, refilled and reassembled used printer cartridges that normally would be tossed.

A summit of aftermarket industry leaders, patent attorneys and media will gather in Barcelona, Spain on January 15-16 seeking updates and looking for solutions.  The 30-year old multi-billion dollar industry, which respects the intellectual property of Canon and other printer OEMs, faces oblivion if Canon’s claims are upheld in the European courts.

In other cases in North America, Canon is also pursuing its legal rights against the aftermarket industry. The patents and issues are different in different countries causing a lot of confusion over what is really going on. Remanufacturers believe they are being challenged over what has been lawful repair for decades.

The RT Imaging Summit—being held over 2 days on the first floor at the prestigious Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) alongside a printing consumables trade show—has attracted patent attorneys Ed OConnor (USA) and Dr Katja Dauster (Germany) who will deliver fresh updates and answer questions about current legal cases.

Dennis Haines, CEO of Badger Office Supplies with headquarters in the UK and offices in Barcelona, simply wants Canon to explain its concerns clearly. “We would like to sit down with Canon and work out what part of the actual disassembly infringes their patent—but they won’t meet with us and they won’t tell us,” Haines told RT Media.

The Summit is the first of its kind run by RT Media in Europe. It comes on the back of well supported, similar events dedicated to the print consumables aftermarket in the USA, China and Mexico during 2014, and following the acquisition of the Spain-based Consumibles Magazine, the iconic US-based Recharger Magazine, and the 31-year, US-based Toner Conference, during 2014.

RT Media now runs the largest network of events and publications (in English, Spanish, Chines, Russian, and Korean) for the global print consumables industry.

Tickets to attend the RT Imaging Summit and Expo, speaker profiles and topics and travel tips can be obtained online at: www.irecyclingtimes.com/Conference-Info?conference_id=14

For More Information:
Website:www.iRecyclingTimes.com

Spain   José Bustamante: Jose.Bustamante@iRecyclingTimes.com

Mexico    Ivan Rosales: Ivan.Rosales@iRecyclingTimes.com

China (Head Office)    Victoria Zhao : VictoriaZhao @iRecyclingTimes.com

USA   Ron Paperno: Ron.Paperno@iRecyclingTimes.com