hp Printer Warranty Your Legal Right to Refill Ink Cartridges: Why Third-Party Inks Won't Void Your Printer Warranty

hp Printer Warranty: Will Third-Party Ink Void My Printer Warranty?

It's one of the most common questions we hear: "Will using SAM★INK® void my hp printer warranty?"

The answer is simple: No.

But don't just take our word for it—the highest court in the United States has your back.

The Supreme Court Ruling That Changed Everything

On May 30, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered a landmark decision that protects your freedom to choose. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, joined by seven Associate Justices—Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan—ruled that printer manufacturers give up their patent rights upon the first sale of a product, whether sold domestically or overseas.

In his opinion, Chief Justice Roberts used a powerful analogy:

"Take a shop that restores and sells used cars. The business works because the shop can rest assured that, so long as those bringing in the cars own them, the shop is free to repair and resell those vehicles. That smooth flow of commerce would sputter if companies that make the thousands of parts that go into a vehicle could keep their patent rights after the first sale."

He continued: "Extending the patent rights beyond the first sale would clog the channels of commerce, with little benefit from the extra control that patentees retain. And advances in technology, along with increasingly complex supply chains, magnify the problem."

The message is clear: once you buy a printer, you own it—and you have the right to use whatever ink you choose.

Federal Law Protects Your Right to Choose

Printer manufacturers cannot legally force you to purchase supplies exclusively from them. Such "tying agreements" violate multiple US federal laws, including:

• The Sherman Antitrust Act
• The Clayton Antitrust Act
• The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act (Title 15, Section 2303) specifically prohibits manufacturers from conditioning a written or implied warranty on the use of their own branded products.

Historic Legal Precedents

1936 – IBM Tabulating Cards Case
The Supreme Court ruled that IBM could not terminate a customer's data processing machine lease simply because the customer chose to use tabulating cards from other manufacturers. This established the principle that manufacturers cannot tie product warranties to the use of their own consumables.

2013-2015 – Collins Inkjet vs. Kodak
In September 2013, Collins Inkjet filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, alleging that Kodak engaged in anticompetitive conduct by illegally tying the sale of Kodak print heads to Kodak inks.

On March 10, 2014, Federal Judge Michael Ryan Barrett ruled in favor of Collins Inkjet and granted an injunction against Kodak.

When Kodak appealed in March 2015, Sixth Circuit Judge John M. Rogers again ruled in favor of Collins Inkjet and upheld the injunction, confirming that tying printer parts to branded inks violates the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Your Warranty Rights Explained

Think of it like a car warranty. When you service your vehicle, the warranty remains valid even when you choose to use different branded spare parts—as long as those parts meet quality standards. The same principle applies to printers and ink.

By law, no printer manufacturer can take away your freedom and right to choose.

What Many Service Technicians Don't Know

Unfortunately, many printer service technicians are unaware that it's illegal for manufacturers to specify which brand of inks must be used. If a technician suggests that using third-party ink voids your warranty, they're either misinformed or the manufacturer is engaging in unlawful practices.

The SAM★INK® Guarantee

We stand behind our products with confidence:

• Using SAM★INK® will not void your printer warranty
• All SAM★INK® products are guaranteed free of defects in workmanship and materials for one year
• In the unlikely event that SAM★INK® damages your printer, we will pay for both spare parts and repair labor

Your Freedom to Choose Quality Ink

The legal landscape is clear: you have the right to refill your ink cartridges, use compatible cartridges, and choose third-party inks without fear of voiding your warranty. The Supreme Court, federal law, and decades of legal precedent protect this freedom.

When you choose SAM★INK®, you're not just choosing premium eco-solvent, solvent, latex, DTF, and UV inks—you're exercising your legal right to make informed decisions about your printing supplies.

Print with confidence. Print with freedom. Print with SAM★INK®.

Have questions about printer warranties or ink compatibility? Contact Sam Leong at sam@sam-ink.com or WhatsApp +65-9011-2282