Court Rules against Samsung

An online seller of printer cartridges, toners and photo paper in the Netherlands, has won a patent dispute against printer giant, Samsung.

123inkt.nl was accused of breaching Samsung’s patent EP-2397914-B1 (EP914) with the use of aftermarket chips it used in its range of aftermarket Samsung laser printer cartridges. Other media reports inaccurately reported it related to inkjet cartridges.

In a judgement at the District Court at The Hague, dated 30th October 2014, the court ruled in favour of 123inkt.nl.

Samsung initiated the case against 123inkt.nl earlier this year, alleging breach of patent EP914, and wanting to enforce a ban on the sale of private label laser toners suitable for use in printers made by the Korean company.

123inkt.nl argued in court that Samsung’s patent on the chip is not inventive and it is being used as a means of enforcing a monopoly on the sale of after-market toners. In it’s summary proceedings the court agreed.  The court found Samsung’s patent is unlikely to be inventive and there is a high probability the patent is invalid. All of Samsung’s claims were therefore rejected.

Director of 123inkt.nl, Gerben Kreuning, told RT Media, “Patent EP914 is well known by the industry. Our own-brand range of toners are made with respect to OEM intellectual property and patents. Our customers think it is important that an affordable and high quality alternative is offered for their printer toners. The court agreed with us that Samsung’s patent is probably invalid and so we can continue to sell our own-brand toners”.

Kreuning also told RT Media patents should not be abused by the OEMs to unduly limit consumer choice. “This attempt by Samsung to acquire a monopoly on printer toners failed.” He added that 123inkt.nl’s customers are the big winners in this dispute: “Affordable printing—even with Samsung printers—remains possible.”

Since its launch in 2000, 123inkt.nl has become one of the fastest growing and most successful online companies in the Netherlands.