- HP secured a significant patent infringement ruling against Ninestar (Pantum) and continues to pursue legal action to protect its intellectual property.
- Online marketplaces remain a major battleground for HP, such as Amazon
- HP anti-counterfeit programme helped authorities seize more than 670,000 fake HP products in early 2026 alone.
Joe Pacula, SVP and Division President, Print Supplies Business Worldwide at HP has released a blog, headed “Protecting the Promise Behind Every Genuine HP Printer Cartridge”.
Safeguarding HP’s intellectual property (IP)
HP has shared a landmark legal judgment affirming protections for HP’s patented technologies, stating:
HP has obtained an IP infringement judgment against Ninestar Corporation (recently rebranded as “Pantum Technology Co., Ltd.”), alongside four of its subsidiaries. A German court confirmed that G&G branded parallel imports of HP 963XL cartridges (unauthorised remanufactured cartridges based on originals sold in other regions) infringed HP’s EP3530470 patent. The orders against the defendants included ceasing the infringing activity, rendering accounts of sales, paying damages, and covering legal fees. Ninestar Corporation and three of its subsidiaries have appealed the decision.
In essence, the court found Pantum liable for patent infringement even though it did not directly sell the infringing products in Germany. The court reasoned that one of Pantum’s core business activities, which is the global remanufacturing of printing supplies originally produced by third-party manufacturers, conducted through its corporate group, carries an inherent risk of infringing third-party IP rights.
Resellers and the Unified Patent Court ruling
The blog continues to elaborate HP’s actions. In the first half of fiscal year 2026, HP secured two preliminary injunctions from the Unified Patent Court ruling in its favour against resellers, involving 924 and/or 937 cartridges, one of which followed an earlier settlement.
The judgments, spanning multiple EU countries including Germany, France and the Netherlands, were followed by settlements and cease-and-desist declarations signed by China-based Aster Graphics Company Ltd, along with two of its European subsidiaries. These declarations cover patents EP286630, EP3530469, and EP3835965, and include payment of damages.
Clearing the Digital Marketplace: Amazon and other platforms.
In the first quarter of 2026, HP removed more than 1,700 infringing listings from Amazon across Europe and the United States, all tied to copyright infringement involving HP 210, 218, 219, and 220 cartridge models. These listings spanned more than 150 different brand names and sellers, primarily based in China.
In the first half of 2025, HP collaborated with Amazon, eBay, and Facebook to remove approximately 120,000 lookalike listings globally. “Lookalike” refers to non-HP products presented in ways that could be mistaken for genuine HP supplies.
HP’s Committment Through Education, Audits, and Enforcement
HP’s Anti-Counterfeit (ACF) program is used to educate partners and customers about how to identify and protect themselves from counterfeit products; offer free product audits to commercial customers; and collaborate with law enforcement agencies around the world.
In the first quarter of 2026, authorities seized more than 670,000 fake HP products, and over 10,000 counterfeit listings and pages were removed from online channels. HP have declared that 8 million counterfeit items were seized over the past three years.
HP want to protect the customer experience
At its core, every enforcement action HP takes is about protecting the customer experience, and rightly so. Counterfeit and infringing cartridges expose customers to real risks, including subpar print quality, reliability issues, and security concerns.
For more information on HP’s Anti-Counterfeit efforts or to report suspected counterfeit activity, visit hp.com/go/anticounterfeit.
Marketforces: Pricing
It is positive to read HP’s effort in the fight against unauthorised manufacture, distribution, and the sale of goods that copy the design or use the trademark of an original product.
The tragedy is that the monies HP uses in such efforts could indeed be used in lowering the costs of the goods and passing those on to the channel and end users.
HP, like most printer manufacturers, has increased toner cartridge prices several times over the past decade, often citing rising raw material costs, logistics and supply chain costs, currency fluctuations, research investments, sustainability and security features.
Price positioning is one reason the compatible and remanufactured printer and printing supplies markets have continued to grow despite HP’s enforcement efforts. HP would argue that customers are not simply purchasing HP printers, and their supplies, but reliability, page yield consistency, security features, firmware compatibility, warranty protection and ongoing investment in innovation.
