The Intellectual Property High Court on Tuesday banned an importer from selling recycled ink cartridges for ink-jet printers in line with a demand by Canon Inc., the patent holder for the type of cartridges the importer wanted to sell.
The court ruled the patent holder has the right to prohibit sale of the recycled product, imported from China by Tokyo-based distributor Recycle Assist Co., saying that the product contained a key part from the patented invention that had been altered.
The court ordered the importer to get rid of its inventory.
The ruling reverses a December 2004 Tokyo District Court decision that rejected Canon's claims.
The district court had said the recycling process merely involved repairs of old cartridges and did not include production of parts, which would infringe on Canon's patent.
A Canon official welcomed the ruling, saying it acknowledged the company's arguments.
Canon said the product, in which empty Canon ink cartridges are cleaned and refilled with non-Canon ink, violates its patent rights.
Printer manufacturers make various types of ink-jet printers. Canon's cartridges use the so-called bubble-jet method to spray ink onto paper.
Canon holds patents on the ink cartridge, as well as its production method. The inside of Canon's cartridge is designed to prevent ink from leaking during transport.