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.
Donโt Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
1,748 thoughts onHP agrees to settlement in overpriced, incompatible ink cartridge class action
My HP Laser printer had this same illegal issue for some time โ rejecting any and all laser cartridge replacement: Are you able to add me to the lawsuit, too?
Is there a settlement website yet?
Please add me. I cancelled the ink program and found out my HP printer will not except any other cartridge. They tracked my printing, allowed only so many pages of printing, charge me for over printing, made sure cartridges bought in store were significantly lower in ink than those sent to you, prices for ink and I was charged every month whether I printed or not. Now that I donโt subscribe, printer malfunction sometimes and will not use none HP cartridges. You donโt even get discounts for sending in empty cartridges.
This company ripped me off for years. I thought this was a โstealโ when I bought the printer but now I know it is a โrip offโ. Please tell me where to join this lawsuit.
I bought a HP Printer and it broke when it was under warranty so they sent me another printer. They said I had to change out the printer head from old one to the new one. The new printer would not work because the ink would only work in the old one. I called many times and they would not do anything about it. I sent the old and the new printer back to them and I never heard from them again. So I paid for a printer that I donโt have anymore and they have 2 printers and my money
When I bought my printer I thought I got lucky by getting a 3 mth free subscription for the Ink but was I Wrong, after the Ink was inserted Iโve had nothing but Problems from my printer. I have made multiple calls to HP over the issue and was told that โI HAD TO USE THEIR INKโ why I should be able,ALLOWED to use whatever Ink I choose that fits my printer, NOPE they(HP) SHUT MY Printer Down. What Gives Them THE RIGHT TO DO THAT!! They DID NOT PAY for it I DID!!! I made multiple calls, now I have to have the HP app to run My printer WHY?? Never had to before. PLEASE add me. I have other Information also
In October, 2023, my computer gave me the Blue Screen of Death. I contacted Microsoft, who advised my to contact Geek Autobuzz. They cleaned my computer and found a hidden software from HP which insisted on only HP ink in my printer and I had installed generic ink. After a quick trip to Staples for HP ink, I changed the ink and had to restart my computer several times, but it then worked. I have an invoice for the repairs by Geek Autobuzz, which was billed by their company PC Techbuildz, for $212.93
Add me
Add me please
Add me
Please make sure I am added to this case because I suffered many times over this same issue. At one point I even called HP and was told that my printer was โobsoleteโ and that I needed to buy a new one because the ink was no longer available. This is certainly a huge lie because HP still manufactures and sells the very common ink cartridge #62, and still sells my make and model of printer!
Add me please