This lawsuit is Epson’s second in recent months focused on intellectual property infringement and fair competition in the large format printing market.
Epson announced that Epson America, Inc., Epson Portland Inc. and Seiko Epson Corp. filed a patent infringement complaint on 18 October 2023 against Weston Tees, LLC and its principals. Weston Tees is a reseller of newly built empty, refillable and filled ink cartridges and circuit boards for large format printer cartridges.
The complaint alleges infringement of claims from United States Patent No. 8,794,749 and United States Patent No. 8,454,116. These patents include claims that were adjudicated in well-publicized actions filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), resulting in a General Exclusion Order barring the importation of all newly built and remanufactured cartridges, circuit boards and components, that infringe the claims.
“We are encouraged that Epson’s enforcement programmes have resulted in increased compliance in both the consumer and commercial markets and have significantly altered the landscape for infringing cartridge sales,” said Jilana Miller, Assistant General Counsel, Epson America. “However, we continue to address the persistent culture of infringement and unfair competition perpetrated through online sales and other commercial channels. These recent complaints demonstrate Epson’s continued commitment to addressing infringement in the commercial and consumer markets, and the problem of components of cartridges which themselves infringe intellectual property rights and impact fair competition.”
This lawsuit supplements Epson’s earlier enforcement efforts by seeking permanent injunctions against further infringements, as well as monetary damages for sales of patent infringing cartridges, circuit boards, and components.
Epson’s enforcement programme includes a broad range of efforts to address patent and trademark infringement throughout the distribution and sales channels, from obtaining General Exclusion Orders in the ITC, to raids and seizures of counterfeit product and regular enforcement through online marketplaces such as Alibaba, Amazon and eBay.
