HP printer ink cartridges have expiration dates that disable the cartridge from working

HP printer ink cartridges for business printers have an expiration date. What this means is that a chip built into the cartridge monitors the date and when a predetermined date is reached the cartridge expires and no longer works.

HP maintains that they do this for quality assurance reasons. What's interesting about this is that HP only does this with business printer models. It's odd that a consumer can decide that the ink is too old and should be replaced but the business user can't make the same determination?

It's no secret that inkjet aftermarket suppliers are gaining considerable ground in the lucrative business of cartridge refilling. HP has challenged and lost in court on numerous occasions to protect it's profits by trying to lock out aftermarket suppliers in regards to inkjet cartridge refills and cartridge remanufacturing. HP lost a major landmark battle with a small competitor by the name of Nu-kote in 1999 in regards to cartridge refilling. Nu-kote won on the basis of the doctrine of an implied license which allows a purchaser to enjoy their product without interference and to replace worn parts and make appropriate modifications in order to continue using a purchased product.

Obviously HP is back to it's old tricks again by trying to prevent users from full enjoyment of their product without interfering. It's only a matter of time before HP is legally challenged again.

Fortunately chip resetters do exist in the market place that will allow those HP cartridges with a date chip to be reset and allow the cartridge to be reused as many times as the user wishes. In case your wondering these chip resetters are perfectly legal since it entitles a user the legal right to modify or replace parts for a product they own in order to continue enjoying and using that product. There's just no getting around good old American ingenuity!

Also see: [ Remanufactured HP Ink Cartridge]