A petition to the Supreme Court for certiorari in its case against North Carolina-based Static control was rejected.
Certiorari for the case would mean the Supreme Court would review the decisions and proceedings performed by a lower court. But the high court has denied certiorari in the case where Lexington-based printer maker Lexmark has been fighting Static Control Components (SCC).
SCC makes a printer cartridge replacement component, Smartek chips, which let a printer communicate with a cartridge. SCC sells these chips to cartridge manufacturers who make low-cost replacement ink cartridges.
Lexmark sued in Kentucky claiming the software in SCC chips includes Lexmark code, a violation of the Copyright Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A preliminary injunction granted there kept SCC from selling cartridges for the Lexmark 520/620 printers.
SCC claimed fair use but was rejected by the Kentucky court at the time. The 6th Circuit Court in Ohio overturned the injunction in October of last year. The Court rejected an appeal by Lexmark for a rehearing of the case in February.
Lexmark sought to have the Supreme Court review those findings and filed for certiorari. That petition was rejected as well.
Now the case will return to the Eastern Court of Kentucky, where SCC feels it can overcome Lexmark’s lawsuit. It has been thought that a Lexmark victory would lead to lawsuits from other printer makers against cartridge remanufacturers.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
