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HP Ink Cartridge Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: HP Inc. is being sued by customers.
- Why: The customers allege HP pushed a firmware update that made its printers incompatible with other brands’ ink cartridges.
- Where: Nationwide
A class action lawsuit alleging HP pushed a software update to its printers to make them incompatible with other brands’ ink cartridges can mostly go ahead, a judge has ruled.
A California federal judge ruled Oct. 15 that most of the class action allegations filed by printer owners against HP, Inc. could go ahead, throwing out only three of the claims.
The claims against HP were first filed in Dec. 2020. The plaintiffs allege that HP transmitted firmware updates without authorization to HP printers through the Internet, with the first update pushed around Nov. 2020.
These firmware updates allegedly act as malware, “adding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers, and rendering the competitors’ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,” the plaintiffs said.
HP Forced Customers to Purchase HP Ink Cartridges, Class Action Alleges
The class action lawsuit said the company told them that HP printers have a “supply problem,” when HP had in fact intentionally caused the issue by sending the “malware” to render third-party ink cartridges incompatible with HP products.
“Plaintiffs allege that as a result of this malware, HP printer owners are either forced to buy HP cartridges or they cannot use their printers until third parties can develop workarounds in their products,” the lawsuit states.
They also allege HP used this firmware update process to conceal the fact it is actually collecting data on whether consumers are using HP or its competitors’ cartridges without their consent.
The lawsuit is looking to represent anyone nationwide who had a HP Color LaserJet Pro M254, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M280, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281, or any other model affected by HP malware transmissions.
The plaintiffs are Mobile Emergency Housing Corp., Performance Automotive & Tire Center and David Justin Lynch’s.
The plaintiffs are suing under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act (CDAFA), California False Advertising Law, California Unfair Competition Law and California Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
The order filed Oct. 15 allowed most of the claims to go ahead, apart from allegations regarding one section of CFAA, trespass to chattels and one claim based on one part of CDAFA.
The news comes as HP faces another class action lawsuit, with a consumer alleging that he and others with an HP “Instant Ink” subscription are experiencing faulty, error-prone cartridges.
Do you own an HP printer that suddenly wouldn’t work with other brands’ ink cartridges? Let us know your experience in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Mark L. Javitch of Javitch Law Office and Thomas A. Zimmerman Jr. of Zimmerman Law Offices PC.
The HP Software Update Ink Cartridge Class Action Lawsuit is Mobile Emergency Housing Corp. et al. v. HP Inc., Case No. 5:20-cv-09157, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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506 thoughts onHP’s Software Update Made Printers Incompatible With Other Ink Cartridges, Class Action Alleges
My printer is brand new and garbage. They added firmware and rendered my ink cartridges useless and this and my old one (thinking it was a fluke yes I was dumb enough to go back) won’t print even with hp ink the cartridges all leak. So I canceled instant ink and they froze my printer. Please include me in these
I had 2 8610 printers -neither will work without HP genuine cartridges. Huge hunks of garbage now. I bought a new printer, 9025e, and now, same thing. I have disabled the cartridge protection, but it still will not work. This is absolutely a case of ransom. I have ALWAYS used HP products, but now, I am considering something else. Add me to the lawsuit.
others with an HP “Instant Ink” subscription are experiencing faulty, error-prone cartridges, me too, called HP because of the faulty cartridge would not print.
Add me I am so mad at HP
Hello, I have had an HP all-in-one series model # 7968, I received an update of firmware the first week of January now my printer does not work whatsoever even went and bought new ink cartridges that I cannot return and out of pocket over $100 because of the firmware update for the past year and a half almost 2 years I have purchased HP cartridges and aftermarket cartridges. Whatever I could afford at that time and the printer was working fine now I cannot even print off invoices for my business for my customers putting me severely behind schedule due to this firmware update that I did not approve of . I cannot even obtain any firmware to undo this issue. I would greatly appreciate any help regarding this matter. If I would’ve known HP had class action lawsuits against them for this unacceptable Firmware update they are pushing for on their customers after the fact I would’ve never purchased an HP product. This is a very shameful unorthodox situation. They are doing to their customers please contact me regarding this situation.
My HP printer will not allow any other compatible brand of ink to work. The first time it happened, I thought I purchased an empty refillable ink cartridge. HP is monopolizing the ink market & forcing us to buy their brand & has raised the price. I also believe the cartridges have less ink in them now.
I have an HP printer that stopped working just last week after 7 years of use due to my ink cartridge not being HP cartridge. I can’t get to any menus to trouble shoot the problem because of the error message. I finally went online to see that many people are having the same problem. I WOULD LIKE TOO BE A PART OF THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. I HAVE THE HP ALL IN ONE 7520 SERIES. NO PROBLEM TILL LAST WEEK.
I own 2 HP printers and neither one will print anymore unless there’s HP ink in them. Additionally, at one point in time I was enrolled in their instant ink program but the ink stopped arriving shortly after enrolling. After numerous attempts to stop being automatically charged for ink that I wasn’t receiving, I had to contact my credit card company and have them refuse any charges from HP. To date, I’ve been charged over $160 for ink, most of which I never received, and have 2 useless printers in my home. I’m currently researching new printers that are not HP and will be purchasing one soon.