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
How do we get on the list? We have hundreds of dollars of ink that wont work and a printer that will not function. I do not remember any disclaimer that We were bound to HP very expensive Ink Program at the time of purchase
I have a hp envy 6052 all in one printer and one of the reasons i purchased it was for the instant refill cartriges and come to find out its not compatble go figure
I have been a loyal HP customer with multiple computers, laptops and printers purchased over the years. On Jan. 18, 2022, my HP color laserjet MFP M281 stopped printing, noting on the screen that โnon-HP ink cartridgesโ had been identified and had to be replaced for the printer to continue working. My HP8620 inkjet printer, includes a firmware download that includes a warning that states that once the ink in the current cartridges are exhausted, this printer will be locked as well until authentic HP cartridges are installed.
If HP has patents on its ink cartridge technology that have been infringed upon by 3rd party manufacturers, HP should be suing the infringers, not making their customers printers unoperable or subject to a high user fee forced upon them by making their customers pay 10x more for HP ink cartridges than customers can get from their competition, with no discernable difference in value, years after purchase. I have had my HP 8620 for at least 5 years and the color jet for approximately 2 years. These two firmware updates caught me by surprise. But, more surprising still, as I believe this already was litigated once in court some years ago.
Happily, there are computer wizards out there that Identified work-arounds which after 5 hours I was able to implement on my color pro laser jet by disabling auto updates and uploading an earlier version of firmware. Very disappointing business strategy.
I want in on this, we have an HP piece of crap printer and i hate this thing with all of my being, itโs ridiculous how much they charge for ink. I am definitely replacing it with a laser printer.
Add me Iโve got the hp Laserjet 3830
Add me please. Office Jet Pro 8024
After HP firmware update, My 16-month-old printer is now a paperweight overnight.
Please add me the list! I am so POed at HP. Will never buy another. Itโs MY printer and I should be able to use the ink I prefer!
My HP 8025 printer suddenly will not print unless I use their ink cartridges. The error message says โnon-HP chip detectedโ. We called HP tech support and they told us their advice was to use only HP ink or the printer would be damaged. The alternate cartridges I was using had been working for months until an unauthorized update on Jan 12 occurred.
Count me in too. We have 3 HP MFP281cdw all-in-ones that just quit working because we were using non-HP toner. Theyโre now useless unless we are willing to spend more than the cost of the printer for HP branded toner.
Add me. I have a HP4500. it only takes one kind of ink.
I have a HP Officejet Pro 8600 would get :install error or would say cartriges are incompatible and may damage printer. I had to resort to a restore point, at one point had to buy a new print head.