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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
I have a HP second one and but hp ink and they are soooo expensive . The second printer has giving me more issues than the first one and with the ink having to also buy ink so quick and the printer having issues with it. I bought ink the second time and it was double the money just for black.
I had an HP that was covered by the previous lawsuit, so no issues with ink. When I had to purchase a new HP, HP OfficeJet Pro 8034e, I called customer service and walked thru every step to ensure that I could use ink from other manufacturers. The rep and I read thru all the documents, and I was good to go. But, the trade-off, which is a cybersecurity nightmare, is I have to refuse all firmware updates. Somehow, my selection was overriden by HP and when I called HP for assistance, I did not get a helpful customer service person, I had an abusive representative on the phone telling me that HP will not stand for customers using counterfeit ink. I then found the work around on the internet and the ink manufacturers are ready to reship ink to me when the cartridges suddenly don’t work. Long story longer, I had no idea that HP was able to bypass the lawsuit settlement when it pushed out new printers. This is outrageous and I look forward to the settlement so I can again get firmware updates. I make a point of complaining on HP’s website and warning everyone that they are unknowingly purchasing a printer that is not covered under the previous lawsuit, that I found out after the fact. Good Luck and thank you for assisting us in this1
YES and these dang HP things are expensive!!! It is just not right!
yes, I have the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281. The firmware update sabotaged my printer.
My HP printer stopped working, essentially it would not boot up. The screen froze up.
HP Officejet 8500A printer all it does is clean inkjets. On my 2nd set of HP inks Cartridges’ and still only clean inkjets.
I have an HP 6055e that I have nothing but ink problems with. I will never buy another HP product again.
How do I join this class, I have 2 HP’s that fall into this class action suit.
I’m not sure why there is any questions as to the FACT that HP did in fact send updates that rendered aftermarket ink cartridges incompatible. It’s a damn shame how GREEDY these scum are. Particularly to loyal customers.
HP Officejet 6700 printer is working fine until an update. I set up for a document print and for the first time ever get message 6700 printer would not operate properly follow discovery of used or different brand ink cartridge. I continued to produce another print which is a short narrative that is a successful print. I set up for a more full page document and the outcome is sporadic printing and a driver error on July 3, 2023.