Announcement

Canon announces conclusion of U.S. patent lawsuits against Ninestar and others

TOKYO, April 21, 2023—Canon Inc. today announced the conclusion of U.S. district court lawsuits against Ninestar Corporation, Ninestar Image Tech Limited, Ninestar Technology Company, and Static Control Components, Inc. (collectively, "Ninestar"), as well as LD Products, Inc. ("LD Products"), The Supplies Guys, Inc. ("Supplies Guys"), and Easy Group, LLC ("Easy Group"). Canon filed each of these lawsuits on March 8, 2021, for infringement of Canon's U.S. Patent Nos. 10,209,667, 10,289,060, 10,289,061, 10,295,957, 10,488,814, 10,496,032, 10,496,033, 10,514,654, 10,520,881, and 10,520,882.

The lawsuits were resolved with Ninestar, LD Products, Supplies Guys, and Easy Group each agreeing to entry of consent judgments and permanent injunctions that prohibit further infringement of the asserted patents and Ninestar paying to Canon an undisclosed sum.

These latest resolutions mark a successful conclusion to a set of actions that Canon initiated in 2021 to protect its patented toner supply container technology, which included two International Trade Commission (“ITC”) investigations and numerous district court actions. With these latest resolutions, Canon has obtained permanent injunctions against more than two dozen manufacturers, importers, and distributors of infringing toner supply containers, as well as two General Exclusion Orders (“GEOs”) from the ITC, prohibiting the importation into the U.S. of infringing toner supply containers and components for the lives of the asserted patents, regardless of the source of the products, and cease and desist orders against many of the ITC respondents, prohibiting the sale of infringing toner supply containers and components that already had been imported into the U.S.

Throughout the development, sales, and marketing process, Canon respects the intellectual property of other companies and individuals and expects others to similarly respect Canon's intellectual property rights. Canon remains committed to pursuing legal enforcement against those who do not respect Canon's intellectual property.