Police raid fake inkjet cartridges factory

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Police raid fake inkjet cartridges factory

 

 

Police, accompanied by a representative of Hewlett-Packard (HP), raided a factory in Pathum Thani on Wednesday and found fake inkjet cartridges that caused damage worth about Bt20 million to the inkjet printer maker.

 

Police arrested several workers at the two-floor house of Future Point Co Ltd in Tambon Klong Sam in Klong Luang district. The workers will be interrogated before police move to arrest their bosses.

 

Benedict Chen Yitang, HP representative in Thailand, accompanied police on the raid.

 

Pol Maj-General Chavalit Sawaengpuet, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, said police had conducted investigations for over three months before carrying out the raid.

 

The Bureau received a complaint from HP about the manufacture of imitation inkjet cartridges, which the company said damaged its reputation as the fake cartridges were of poor quality.

 

Chavalit said the owner of the firm bought used cartridges from major firms to make the fake ones.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/breakingnews/30311401

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-04-05

[lemonjelly]

Laser jet cartridges..... the originals simply refilled by entrepreneurs. If they're resold cheaply I'm all for it. 

[Wilsonandson]

Holy shoot! Is there anything left for the cheapskate living in Thailand. Every printer I've ever seen in this country uses a refillable ink cartridge thats been soldered onto the printer.

Jeez, what is next? Don't tell me we all have to buy a real copy of Windows as well. Dude is on a war path.

Come to Thailand where everything has been cleaned up and is exactly like your home country, in price and in laws. Just waiting for hookers to be outlawed and its game set and match.

[Rob13]

it's an after market product, what's the problem.

[Prbkk]

These genuine cartridges are exorbitantly expensive: just an obscene rip-off perpetrated on people around the world for the benefit of US shareholders. Similar to the ludicrous situation with coffee capsules, whereby there is no generic "one size fits all", rather the manufacturers flog the machines at cost and thereby lock in consumers to the same brand of capsules ( in collusion with retailers). Disgraceful.

I'm backing, and buying from, the fraudsters for the ink.

[darksidedog]

I can see the howls of protest coming soon, when the cops need more money for ink, for the copious amount of crap they print for every new case, because the cheap cartridges they were buying are no longer available!

[scorecard]

45 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I can see the howls of protest coming soon, when the cops need more money for ink, for the copious amount of crap they print for every new case, because the cheap cartridges they were buying are no longer available!

 

Seems to me there are 3 scenarios:

 

- Cartridges  (as per this story) carrying a 'famous' brand name, but the producer has illegally used the original name. Illegal, copright, trade name, intellectual property violation. 

 

- Entrepreneur who has bought original but now empty cartridges then refilled the cartridges and put a new / different name on the product. Unless the original ink manufacturer can legally demand that nobody can sell or buy their empty cartridges, then surely no offence has been committed.

 

- Buy a printer but with no promise on the part of the buyer to buy ink from or use ink manufactured by the printer maker. Now add tanks to the printer you own with no encumbrance and fill the tanks with whatever brand / quality ink you choose to buy.  Surely no offence committed in any way. Sounds good to go to me.

[Sphere]

This wouldn't be necessary if HP were to collect their used cartridges and offer a reasonable discount on the replacements. 

[bendejo]

This action will certainly mean that corruption is now officially less rampant in the kingdom. 

 

 

 

[Knocker33]

I wish I could find Canon copies as the real ones are obscenely way overpriced.

 

[Rob13]

15 minutes ago, Knocker33 said:

I wish I could find Canon copies as the real ones are obscenely way overpriced.

 

 

They got them on Ebay. That's where I get mine.  Quality not as good as the canon ones, but the price is good and they work good enough.

[idman]

The printer companies, HP, Canon, Epsom, Brother et al. reel you in with super low prices for a top quality printer and then rob you blind when it's time to replace the ink supply. I am all for paying the lowest price and if that is a knockoff product so be it. In this case, just another photo op. for the BIBS, see how we are doing our job. A total waste of time.

Sent from my SM-T805 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[scorecard]

3 minutes ago, idman said:

The printer companies, HP, Canon, Epsom, Brother et al. reel you in with super low prices for a top quality printer and then rob you blind when it's time to replace the ink supply. I am all for paying the lowest price and if that is a knockoff product so be it. In this case, just another photo op. for the BIBS, see how we are doing our job. A total waste of time.

Sent from my SM-T805 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

 

It seems to me that going the tank route nobody is breaking any laws, doing nothing naughty, 

[masuk]

15 hours ago, Prbkk said:

These genuine cartridges are exorbitantly expensive: just an obscene rip-off perpetrated on people around the world for the benefit of US shareholders. Similar to the ludicrous situation with coffee capsules, whereby there is no generic "one size fits all", rather the manufacturers flog the machines at cost and thereby lock in consumers to the same brand of capsules ( in collusion with retailers). Disgraceful.

I'm backing, and buying from, the fraudsters for the ink.

I bought a new Canon in Australia recently, for $29.00.  Yup, new price at a reputable store, unpacked.

 

Went to buy two cartridges today = total $62.00!

 

I have a bulk tank of 4 colours on my printer in Thailand.  Cost me 600 baht.

[Classic Ray]

I think the reason HP were so interested is I suspect the company were passing these refilled cartridges off either as new original  HP products or as refilled by HP, using HP logos and packaging. 

 

HP and others don't seem to worry too much about those who fit external ink tanks or sell refills under their own name as long as they can protect the reputation of their own original branded products.

[steven100]

I hate these multi international companies ....  they are dirt.

If a poor guy sweeping the street can save up and buy a fake rolex, good for him as it gives money to the seller to feed his family ... and the guy will never buy a real rolex anyway, so how does it cost the company millions ...  BS

This is no different, I always buy copies because they are cheaper ...

 

So this makes me more angry and will never buy ....  HP  ...

HP = DIRT.

 

[Prbkk]

16 hours ago, Rob13 said:

it's an after market product, what's the problem.

One case is going to the US Supreme Court. Clearly if they win, consumers lose.

 

http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/printer-makers-are-fighting-to-make-it-illegal-for-you-to-refill-their-cartridges-yes-its-bonkers

[55Jay]

Hmm.  The corporate police arresting people at the behest of a big corporation.    HP should of made a complaint in the courts instead of getting the police and themselves, involved in a raid. 

 

But I get it.  If these guys were buying empty/used HP cartridges, refilling, then selling them as new, genuine products at a discount, then that's the rub.  Hell, I used to have my Indian/ Nepalese staff get our toner cartridges refilled at small computer shops in the middle east.  I didn't really think about the intellectual property rights at the time but I do see the point now.  Reluctantly. 

 

Watched a YT video of a Chinese lady taking a clean but used Iphone and re-packaging it in a  new box.  She had stacks of the plastic tray inserts, user manuals, etc., heat shrink the plastic wrapping....took her about 10 minutes to put it all together, it looked perfectly legit sat there in the display.

[KenKadz]

This photo looks like Laser-Jet cartridges not Ink-Jet cartridges to me.

[Rob13]

4 hours ago, Prbkk said:

One case is going to the US Supreme Court. Clearly if they win, consumers lose.

 

 

They created the market for the knock-offs with their stupidly high prices. Instead of suing, the AG should hit them with a fine for price gouging.

[wakeupplease]

The price of these ink-jet refills here is more than the printer (cannon) and last a couple of days. O to have one of those bolt on extra ink-jet tanks I used to have, they lasted ages, I think that is the only thing I miss about not being there.

 

Printer copyright yes

Ink No

[wow64]

Every police station has one of these continuous ink printers..

[JAG]

I tried to print this story out, now that I've renewed my printer cartridges. I selected black and white, it came out purple and orange...

[JAG]

5 minutes ago, wow64 said:

Every police station has one of these continuous ink printers..

 Well know they've got several years supply of buckshee cartridges!

[jayceenik]

Inkjet HP 685. All bought new and declared "Genuine" by my HP printer.

Bought Yellow at Office Mate. Came with a big sticky spill within the blister plastic package but installed OK after clean up.

Bought Magenta at IT City. Cartridge installed shows much less than full.

Bought Cyan at Panthip. OK.

Bought Black at IT City. OK.

 

Much less use overall than claimed by HP. It's an expensive rip off. So good for the pirates !