Update:
- 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.
- Consumers sued the printer company in 2020, alleging it pushed a software update to its printers to make them incompatible with other brands’ ink cartridges.
- 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, “adding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers and rendering the competitors’ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers,” 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 brands’ 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 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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1,748 thoughts onHP agrees to settlement in overpriced, incompatible ink cartridge class action
I HAVE BEEN VICTIMISED BY HP AND THEIR PRODUCTS
I am a victim of HP as I was forced to buy HP cartridges. Even after buying “approved” cartridges there’s no guarantee that they will work. I have lost my patience with HP as a result of the issue.
Please add me to the list of customers who bought the Hp all in one and a pc that only works sometimes. I have so many ink cartridges that still have ink but won’t work. I will never buy their junk again. Add me
Ill be happy to sign up, my printer was working just fine until it said my color ink was “out” after maybe printing 20 pages and it was an xl cartridge, so I replaced it said same thing. Now it says damnaged.
Sign me up to this lawsuit, too.
Installed a non-HP cartridge tonight. Printer refused to work, displaying a message in the LCD window that: “Non-HP Chip Detected
The indicated cartridges have been blocked by the printer firmware because they contain a non-HP chip. This printer is intended to work only with new or reused cartridges that have a new or reused HP chip.”
I have an Officejet 6978. Please add me to list of firmware update complaints. This is so shady on HP’s part. I had no idea that could be legal. I have 5 brand new cartridges still in the box that are worthless. Ugh!
Printer is an HP 8710. Yesterday, got a message that the yellow (a non HP cartridge) was empty. Had been using it for several months. Tried to replace it with another non HP cartridge and printer gave messages to the effect it was a non HP cartridge, the printer wouldn’t work with it installed, must use only HP cartridges, this was for the user’s protection. Had to install HP cartridges to reenable printer at considerably higher cost. Thought HP had been sued previously for doing this?
hp 6600 office pos.crapped out on me after buying hp ink and a refurbished printhead, spit 70% of the 100.00 ink out trying to test prints and clean the head. sign me up to [please
HP m254 bricked since last year. Sign me up!
I have several HP printers, both at my business and at home. This is absolutely horrible, and I would like to be added to the class action.