A class action lawsuit alleges that Epson wrongly prevents their printers from working with ink made by any other manufacturer.
William Mondigo and Richard Famiglietti say that when they purchased their printers, they reviewed the specifications for them, and noted that Epson did not disclose that the company would disable the printers if a third-party ink cartridge was used.
Allegedly, Epson engages in a “systematic campaign” of disabling Epson printers when the user attempts to use non-Epson ink cartridges. Mondigo and Famiglietti say that the company does this by designing software updates that purposely disables the printers when the non-Epson ink cartridges are installed.
The two customers go on to state that there is nothing wrong with the third-party ink cartridges, noting that they work with Epson printers that have not been given the software update that disables the printers.
Mondigo and Famiglietti also note that they and other customers actively did not authorize Epson to disable their printers. The customers explain that a purchaser must agree to Epson’s licensing agreement, and they note that the licensing agreement states that Epson may implement software updates. However, the license allegedly does not explain that these updates could disable the printers.
Mondigo and Famiglietti say that for many users, these updates effectively ruined the Epson printers. The customers say they were forced to pay more for ink cartridges than they otherwise would, because Epson ink cartridges cost significantly more than third-party cartridges, some costing as much as $150.
Additionally, the plaintiffs note that in many cases, the cost of replacement cartridges over the lifetime of the printer is higher than the cost of the printer itself.
The Epson printer class action lawsuit states that Epson did not inform printer owners that the company would update the software so that the printers would not work with non-Epson printer ink. The Epson printer class action lawsuit goes on to say that Epson advertised that the software updates would “improve the printers and fix known issues.”
The Epson ink cartridge class action lawsuit says that Epson’s action to disable the printers when third-party cartridges are used goes beyond information provided in the Epson 2018 Annual Report. Allegedly, that report did note that Epson printers could be used with third-party ink cartridges, and explained that customer use of these third-party products could cut into the company’s bottom line.
However, the Epson printer ink cartridge class action lawsuit says that in that report, Epson does not discuss disabling printers as a way to increase the company’s market shares, and merely suggests tactics including “emphasizing the quality of genuine Epson brand” and “enhance[ing] customer experience and developing new products…”
Was your printer disabled after you used a third-party ink cartridge? Let us know in the comment section.
Mondigo and Famiglietti are represented by Jae K. Kim, Eric D. Zard, Edwin J. Kilpela and James P. McGraw of Carlson Lynch LLP and Michael K. Yarnoff of Kehoe Law Firm PC.
The Epson Printer Ink Cartridge Class Action Lawsuit is William Mondigo, et al. v. Epson America Inc., Case No. 3:19-cv-02009-BEN-BGS, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
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1,629 thoughts onEpson Class Action Says Printers Disabled When Non-Epson Ink Used
It’s Decembr 2025 and I was using non-Epson ink cartridges in my Epson WF 4820 printer when I accepted a software update. Sure enough, it disabled the two non-Epson cartridges that had previously worked. I emailed Epson for help, and they told me that I can’t use non-Epson cartridges in their machines. So I had to go out and buy the much more expensive Epson ones.
same results with epson no response and hung yup on sad that a corporatiom as large as epsons parent is such a money hog no more poson products for me. Our church was purchasing new printers but now going with brother instead
I have had Epson block my third party ink cartridges twice for my XP-15000. The first time I just replaced the cartridge as it was low anyway. This time the cartridges were brand new. I called them to complain and get them to roll back the firmware update. They flat out refused. I went to talk to a supervisor about it and they hung up on me! I then had to go to Amazon where I bought the ink cartridges and start a return on the cartridges. It is insane that I had to return 2 ink cartridges and buy 1 epson cartridge for the same cost just so I can get through the holiday season. It is beyond frustrating.