Lawsuit Says HP Printer Cartridges Die Before Use
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=738&e=1&u=/nm/20050222/
tc_nm/tech_hp_printers_dc

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Georgia woman has sued Hewlett-Packard Co.
(NYSE:HPQ
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/nm/tc_nm/storytext/tech_hp_pri
nters_dc/14373740/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=hpq&d=t>  - news
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/biz/nm/tc_nm/storytext/tech_hp_printer
s_dc/14373740/*http://biz.yahoo.com/n/h/hpq.html> ), claiming the ink
cartridges for their printers are secretly programmed to expire on a
certain date, in some cases rendering them useless before they are even
installed in a printer. 
The suit filed in Santa Clara Superior Court in northern California last
Thursday seeks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased an
HP inkjet printer since Feb. 2001. HP is the world's No. 1 computer
printer maker. 
HP spokesmen were not immediately available to comment. 
HP ink cartridges use a chip technology to sense when they are low on
ink and advise the user to make a change. But, the suit claims, those
chips also shut down the cartridges at a predetermined date regardless
of whether they are empty. 
"The smart chip is dually engineered to prematurely register ink
depletion and to render a cartridge unusable through the use of a
built-in expiration date that is not revealed to the consumer," the suit
said. 
The suit, which seeks class-action status, asks for restitution, damages
and other compensation. 

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