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Lexmark

Recently, Lexmark became aware of ‘Lexmark’ toners being sold at an extremely low price. Alerted by this fact, Lexmark organised purchase of some of the toner cartridges. These toner were being purchased by both Lexmark channel partners and resellers.

After detailed examination by the Lexmark laboratories, it materialised that the toners were sophisticated counterfeits. A dealer who had purchased these toners informed Lexmark of the distributor based in Hamburg Germany. The Court ordered that the distributor should cease and desist from selling, offering, advertising or otherwise bringing into circulation refilled toner cartridges using the “Lexmark” trademark. The court further ordered that the distributor must disclose details about the manufacturer, others in the chain of distribution and the numbers received and delivered.

The counterfeit toners were delivered up under court order and destroyed. The suppliers of the counterfeit toners were based in Austria and Germany and interlocutory injunctions were granted against both the related companies. A production facility was located in Austria, run by a company called TKR and owned by a Siegfrid Mairinger. This firm brought thousands of counterfeit toners into circulation.

Mr. Mairinger has since been convicted by an Austrian Court. The other company involved were ‘Suppliers’.

Bernard Dumont commented, “Lexmark considers its litigious strategy a proven success and will continue to immediately apply for preliminary remedies against the distributors or manufacturers of counterfeit imaging supplies.”