HP discusses cooperation with aftermarket over infringing chips

October 24, 2013

The OEM told attendees at a conference in Asia that they are looking to work with chip manufacturers to create compliant technology for remanufacturing, and introduced a solution for aftermarket manufacturers to utilise.

The two representatives from HP discussed cooperating with the aftermarket, with the OEM’s Elizabeth Porter – Worldwide Toner Competitive Response Manager – and Matthew Barkley – Worldwide IP and Brand Protection Programmes Manager – warning remanufacturers to “cease using infringing chips”.

The pairs’ presentation, entitled Aftermarket Chips for HP LaserJet Printers: Recommended Changes to Avoid Brand Misidentification, remarked that aftermarket chip manufacturers “need to programme their chips so that proper messaging is displayed and their products are not misrepresented”, as well as customers ensuring that “they are buying compliant product[s]”.

The trademark field on the chip is what HP’s printers’ firmware “reads and reacts” to, and so aftermarket manufacturers “need to change the value in this field [as] putting any value other than HP […] will only change the display message the customer sees”. Chip manufacturers will need to “locate their trademark field within the applicable data structure and change the string of ASCII characters” to their own name.

Porter and Barkley noted that aftermarket companies would need to change “existing chips for certain current and future printers”, as well as “implement changes to chip functionality across all devices HP introduces starting in 2014”, noting that benefits would include “no loss of features or degraded performance [and] minimal cost of implementation”.

The two representatives added that it was their intention and “preference” to work alongside remanufacturers, with the white paper outlining their position distributed amongst attendees and made available online.

Categories : World Focus

Tags : HP IP Technology