The following appears on Washingtongpost.com
Last week, the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to corporations that try to use patent law as a weapon against other firms, saying that companies can only be sued for patent infringement in the places they actually do business.
Now, the Court has ruled again along those same lines, handing a victory to consumer groups in a case about printer cartridges — or more specifically, toner cartridges, the kind used by laser printers. The case has huge implications for the way we think about technology ownership in America, and your rights as a user. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s this case all about?
The case is called Impression Products v. Lexmark. Lexmark does a lot of business with corporate customers, so if you work in an office, you might know the name from seeing it on your printers there. Those machines rely on toner cartridges, which must be changed every so often when they run out, just like ink cartridges in your home printer. And just like home printing, laser printing hinges on a razor-and-blades business model where much of the manufacturer’s income depends on the reliable sale of new toner cartridges.