COPYCENSE

"In a closely watched case involving the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a federal court has ruled that a small North Carolina company can continue selling a chip that makes it possible to use refilled toner cartridges in Lexmark printers.

"Static, which sells printer parts and other business supplies, has been defending a lawsuit brought by Lexmark, the No. 2 maker of printers in the United States. The suit claims the Smartek chip violates the DMCA, and Lexmark hopes the case will slam the brakes on the toner cartridge remanufacturing industry and compel consumers to buy its cartridges.

"The case has gotten a lot of attention because it’s one of the first to test the limits of the DMCA, which Congress enacted in 1998 to limit Internet piracy."

Declan McCullagh. Ruling on Refilled Printer Cartridges Touches DMCA. News.com. Oct. 26, 2004.

See also:
U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc.. (.pdf). Oct. 26, 2004.

Electronic Frontier Foundation. Lexmark v. Static Control Case Archive.

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