In the appeal decision of
Calidad Pty Ltd v Seiko Epson Corporation [2019] FCAFC
115 the Full Federal Court of Australia found that
refurbished printer cartridges infringed an Australian patent. The
decision involved consideration of whether modifications made in
refurbishing the printer cartridges fell within the scope of an
implied license, and whether the modifications related to repair or
making a new product.
This decision should be considered both by patentees whose
products can be refurbished and sellers or importers of refurbished
patented products.
Background
Seiko Epson Corporation ("Seiko") is the owner of
Australian Patent No. 2009233643 ("the Patent") directed
to printer cartridges. Seiko sold printer cartridges designed only
for use with Epson printers.
