Aigo, the Spanish-based distributor of Aftermarket printer cartridges throughout Europe, was accused by Hewlett-Packard (HP) of selling infringing products in Poland three years ago.

However, the Polish Patent Office in Warsaw (pictured) has  now considered all three legal claims by HP against Aigo’s Polish branch office Vanke. It has ruled Vanke has not infringed HP’s patents in all three cases.

Two of the patents in question regarded chips and electric circuits (Polish Patent No. PL196153, corresponding to EU Patent No. EP1303412; Polish Patent No. PL203291, corresponding to EU Patent No. EP1429926), and the other one was a structural patent (Polish Patent No. PL195547, corresponding to EU Patent No. EP1244557).

“We are delighted that our products have been vindicated,” Bryson Xue, who represents the company in the Netherlands, told RT Media. “We totally respect the intellectual property rights of all OEM and Aftermarket companies in our industry.”

Xue went on to explain, however, that OEMs should not be using patents wrongfully in order to gain a market monopoly. “Many of HP’s European patents should be invalidated because they do not involve any new invention.”

Aigo has now applied to the courts for compensation after the allegedly infringing products were detained for three years and because of the ban against any trade of those products during that time.

Earlier this year, RT Media reported on a different case where HP also lost against the Aftermarket in Poland. Black Point S.A. had previously won its case in the Regional Court, but HP rejected the decision so it was taken to the Court of Appeal in Wroclaw. On October 19, 2016 this court also dismissed HP’s appeal in full and therefore maintained in force the decision of the Regional Court in favour of Black Point S.A.. In this particular case, the court found HP had no grounds on which to accuse Black Point S.A. of violating HP’s patent rights. The judgment is legally binding and the appeal was dismissed in full. Further, the Court of Appeal ordered Hewlett-Packard to cover the costs of the appeal proceedings in favour of Black Point S.A.. You can read the 5 Questions interview with Michal Dubas, President of the Management Board of Black Point S.A.. in Recycling Times Magazine on page 47