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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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1,586 thoughts onEpson Class Action Says Printers Disabled When Non-Epson Ink Used
This happened to me about six months ago. I replaced the ink for the first time with a third party ink cartridge and the printer stopped working altogether. I gave it away and bought a new HP. Please add my name to this class action law suit. Thank you very much.
I have a brand new epson printer and it will not do anything but print blank pages
This happened to me about a month ago. I replaced the ink with 3rd party ink and the printer quit working. Threw it away and bought a HP.
I have used epson for years. My workforce recently did this because I used a third party cartridge, because the coat of ink is just ridiculous. I went out and bought an HP to replace it. I just hope this one works better.
add me
I had an Epson printer that had the same thing happen. I purchased the ink and installed it. Went to print the first page and it froze my printer. It was toast. Had to throw it away. I needed a new printer so I had to rush out and get a new one. Not a happy Epson customer any more!
Yes, I had an Epson printer that I purchased non-Epson cartridges for on Amazon. Not only did they not work, they caused my printer to shut down and not work even after removing them and replacing with the low Epson ones. I ended up with no choice but to purchase a new HP printer, bc I could not be without a printer for as long as it would’ve taken me to figure it out.
I had bought third party ink for my Epson printers & sometimes they would work for a while & then all of a sudden I’d get errors telling me they were not compatible & other times they wouldn’t work at all. I would be forced to buy the Epson brand at a MUCH higher price just so I could get my printer to work.
I had an nx420 that would not work with other than epson ink
Bought cheaper non epson ink and it ruined the printer