Update:ย
- In a joint notice filed July 12 in a California federal court, HP and a certified class of consumers reached a settlement in principle and are working to finalize the agreement.ย
- Consumers sued the printer company in 2020, alleging it pushed a software update to its printers to make them incompatible with other brandsโ ink cartridges.ย
- They allege HP transmitted firmware updates without authorization to HP printers through the internet, with the first update pushed around Nov. 2020. These firmware updates reportedly act as malware, โadding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers and rendering the competitorsโ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,โ the plaintiffs claim.
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 brandsโ ink cartridges.
- Where: Nationwide
(Oct. 16, 2021)
A class action lawsuit alleging HP pushed a software update to its printers to make them incompatible with other brandsโ 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.ย
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, โadding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers, and rendering the competitorsโ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,โ 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 โsupply problem,โ when HP had in fact intentionally caused the issue by sending the โmalwareโ to render third-party ink cartridges incompatible with HP products.ย
โPlaintiffs 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,โ the lawsuit states.ย
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 competitorsโ cartridges without their consent.ย
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.ย
The plaintiffs are Mobile Emergency Housing Corp., Performance Automotive & Tire Center and David Justin Lynchโs.
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 โInstant Inkโ subscription are experiencing faulty, error-prone cartridges.ย
Do you own an HP printer that suddenly wouldnโt work with other brandsโ ink cartridges? Let us know your experience in the comments!ย
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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1,748 thoughts onHP agrees to settlement in overpriced, incompatible ink cartridge class action
I have owned several hp printers and have had problems with. The ink cartridges working correctly. Please ad. Me to the list
I am having the same issue
We have had this HP MFP for many years and have seen no need in replacing it since it is still functioning beautifully. The only problem- you cannot find cartridges that are compatible. We recently got into it with HP and they told us that there was โnothing that could be doneโ. We had to use refill ink in order to get it to semi-work so that it reads the original HP cartridges and the โoff-brandโ we used was giving a โfraudโ error on our printer. We have a work around to keep the cartridges working since we have to use it for homeschool, but we start sweating bullets when there is an electricity outage because that prompts the reset of the settings of the printer and it begins to malfunction as if itโs hacked. WE WANT IN ON THIS SUIT!
I have had an HP Office Jet Pro printer for about 5 years and also have an ink subscription with HP.
I have had the same issue of having to purchase their ink because nothing else will work. I have also
been having problems with their networking services. Please add me to this settlement. Cher~
Please add me, I have experienced these problems listed. I work for a company that services office equipment and also heard many complaints from our customers. I finally had to purchase a new printer.
I had a paid subscription and I paid monthly for a few years. The last time I used the printers one of the cartridges expill ed ink inside, never work again
Yes please add me to this action. I have owned HP for years.
I have bought many inkjet I have had this printer for a few year like 10 or more so add my name.
Add me in I gotten a lot
I, too, have been a loyal HP customer for many years, and have owned several all-in-ones (the current one is an OfficeJet Pro 6978); HP ink cartridges are very expensive, and do not last nearly as long as theyโre supposed to, even when you buy the XL versions (especially the color ones). Please include me in the mailings.
count me in I have bought many inkjet for I have had this printer for few. year