The Japan Supreme Court has upheld a high court ruling that states that the sale of recycled ink cartridges violates Canon Inc.s (pun intended) patent rights.
Presiding Judge Kazuko Yokoo has ruled that “If a product processed from a patented product can be regarded as a new patented product, the processed one is a violation of the patent right of the original one.”
According to the ruling, a recycled product infringes if it can be recognized as a “new production” of the patented product.
The case Recycle Assist vs. Canon was first heard in 2004, but the Japanese Supreme Court Ruling is irreversible. The decision is expected to impact the recycling industry as a whole, and may have ramifications in other countries.
