Ninestar Responds to Canon’s Latest Complaint

Ninestar Responds to Canon’s Latest Complaint

Within 24 hours, Ninestar published an official response to Canon which issued a statement on its website saying it is taking legal action in California, USA against Ninestar for allegedly infringing its patents.

On September 17, 2020, Canon filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Ninestar Corporation, Ninestar Image Tech Limited, and Ninestar Technology Company, Ltd. (collectively, “Ninestar”), for infringement of Canon’s U.S. Patent Nos. 9,851,688; 9,857,766; 10,620,582; 10,712,709; and 10,712,710. The asserted patents relate to Canon toner cartridge model 729 and HP toner cartridge models 126A and 130A. The printers using these toner models account for a very small installed base.

The legal department at Ninestar told RT Media, that as at September 18 (China time), it had not been served any official notices by Canon, its lawyers or the courts.

The official statement from Ninestar said, “We are aware of a new lawsuit that Canon Inc. filed on September 17 with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California while the complaint has not yet served.”

“We respect the intellectual property rights of any third party and protect our own innovations through patents. As always, we are confident with and stand proudly behind our proprietary technology.

“Should you have any question, feel free to contact our sales representatives.”

On April 20, 2020, the US Federal Circuit ruled unanimously against Canon which was appealing an earlier 2018 decision of the US International Trade Commission (USITC) which in turn had ruled that certain aftermarket design around solutions did not infringe Canon’s patents. According to US-based Merritt Blakeslee, who has been practising in international trade law since 1991, Canon made it very clear it believed the USITC’s interpretation of the patent claims to be overly narrow. It announced it would consider the available “options.”

Opinion

It is quite possible that this September 17 filing is one of the “options” Canon is choosing to pursue. Ninestar has made it clear in its statement the company respects the intellectual property rights of others, it will protect its own innovations and is confident to stand proudly behind its proprietary technology.

Related:

• September 17, 2020: Canon Takes Revenge on Ninestar in USA
• May 1, 2020: US Trade Law Expert Claims Canon Has No Viable Options
• April 25, 2020: Canon Reviews its Options Over its Recent US Court Loss
• April 21: 2020: SCC Reacts to Aftermarket Win Against Canon
• April 21, 2020: Aftermarket Scores Another Win – Canon loses: zero degrees is not an angle
• April 14, 2020: Pivotal Question for Courts over Canon Gear

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