Ebuyer settles over alleged Medea violation

Reseller compensates Epson over alleged patent infringement by a supplier

Patent infringements around consumables have become a big issue

Online reseller Ebuyer has settled with print giant Epson for an unknown sum in a legal stoush over inkjet cartridges involving one of its suppliers.

The Yorkshire-based reseller has also withdrawn Inkrite-brand cartridges from sale in response to allegations by Epson that the cartridges infringed several technology patents held by Epson.

Matthew Drew, group product manager at Epson, said in a statement that the company would always seek to prevent any suspected misuse of its intellectual property.

“We invest heavily in research and development to ensure that our customers receive the very best possible imaging results from our products,” said Drew.

“We will continue to take a proactive stance against such infringements on our technologies.”

Epson said in the statement that it had also started legal proceedings against Medea International, which supplied Inkrite cartridges to Ebuyer and owns the Inkrite brand. A trial date has been set for October.

The vendor declined requests from CRN to comment further on the incident and proceedings.

Medea International is based in Scotland and was founded in 1998. Besides Inkrite, it owns the JR Inkjet, PressIt, Infiniti, AnySharp, LightBulb, and Travalo brands – which are mainly print consumables.