By Tearing Open That Cardboard Box, Are You Also Signing on the Dotted Line?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Date: October 3, 2005 2:34:15 AM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipient:;
Subject: By Tearing Open That Cardboard Box, Are You Also Signing on  
the Dotted Line?



By Tearing Open That Cardboard Box, Are You Also Signing on the  
Dotted Line?

By J. D. BIERSDORFER
October 3, 2005

Pay attention next time you rip open a cardboard box - you may be
entering into a contract without realizing it.

A recent decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinforced
the right of companies, in this case Lexmark International, the
printer maker, to legally limit what customers can do with a patented
product, given that the company spells out conditions and
restrictions on a package label known as a box-top license.

Clickable license agreements are common practice in software, where
the buyer agrees not to tamper with the code or copy the program. But
slapping postsale regulations on patented goods could deny buyers the
ability to make modifications or seek repairs on other products as
well. Box-top licenses could also theoretically hinder third parties
from offering replacement parts or supplies for fear of a
patent-infringement lawsuit (meaning, for example, that a lighter
might have to be refueled only with the manufacturer's brand of
butane).

In the lawsuit, the Arizona Cartridge Remanufacturers Association, a
trade group of companies that sell refilled printer cartridges,
claimed that Lexmark was engaging in unfair and deceptive business
practices by promising price discounts on its laser cartridges if the
customer promised to return the empty cartridge to Lexmark.

Lexmark's packaging for laser cartridges sold under this system
(called the Lexmark Cartridge Rebate, or the Prebate program)
includes a label on the outside of the box stating: "Opening this
package or using the patented cartridge inside confirms your
acceptance of the following license agreement." Cartridges that are
not part of the Prebate program and not subject to the restriction
are available to customers as well, but without the discount. At the
time of the case, Lexmark estimated that cartridge returns had
increased 300 percent since the Prebate program began.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/03/business/03inkjet.html? 
ex=1285992000&en=52eef2f74aed472b&ei=5090



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