HP settles spat over counterfeit printer ink

Defendants have agreed to stop importing and selling counterfeit cartridges

HP has settled cases with 11 companies it had accused of intellectual property theft.

The company said that the firms in question had been importing and selling counterfeit HP O2 inkjet printer cartridges. Formal complaints were filed in September of last year arguing that the companies had violated US trade laws.

"HP is pleased with the outcome on these matters, and remains committed to vigorously pursuing legal enforcement against practices that do not respect HP’s IP rights," said Stephen Nigro, senior vice president for inkjet and web services business in HP's imaging and printing group.

While the settlements have different specifics, all centre on the defendants agreeing to stop importing and selling infringing cartridges. Three of the firms have also agreed to pay an undisclosed monetary settlement to HP.

The settlement comes as HP is pursuing three other companies it has accused of infringing patents on cartridges and reselling stolen printer head components from an HP plant in Singapore.

HP's is one of many counterfeit cases to make headlines recently. Earlier this month, Intel revealed that counterfeit i7 processors had apparently hit the market, while Cisco had a California retailer jailed for selling counterfeited versions of its routers.