Canon Is Making Sure Injunctions Are Enforced, Gets Contempt Order

On April 10, Canon announced that it resolved patent contempt proceedings against Copy Technologies, Inc. Copy Technologies must now pay Canon the profits it made for selling infringing toner cartridges in violation of a consent judgment and permanent injunction to which it agreed in 2011.

Canon’s supporting memorandum explains that an independent investigator obtained examples of toner cartridges sold by Compu-Imaging, Copy Technologies, and DBI.  Canon’s expert determined they were identical to the accused products that the firms were barred from selling when they agreed to the consent judgment in 2011 and that the toner cartridges that Canon obtained infringed at least one claim of the  ‘803 or ‘454 patents.

Canon’s contempt motion asks the court to order the defendants to comply with the consent judgment and permanent injunction, require them to turn over the profits derived by violating the consent judgment, potentially award enhanced damages and attorneys fees if the court finds the violations of the consent judgment to be willful, and reimburse Canon for its costs involved in bringing the contempt motion.

On April 8, Judge Robert W. Sweet signed a contempt order granting the contempt motion against Copy Technologies for violating the consent order by selling the “Post-Injunction Products identified in Canon’s contempt motion.” These include the CB436A-MICR, CB436A, C7115X, CB436A, CE278A, CE285A, Q2612A, and Q6511A cartridges. According to the order, Copy Technologies concedes that these cartridges infringe at least claim 128 of the ‘803 patents and claim 24 of the ‘454 patent. The firm must “forever waive” any argument that the products do not infringe those claims or should be subject to a permissible repair defense.