HP has secured a victory in the Munich Regional Court against Ninestar subsidiary CaiLuo Technology. The case, reported by JUVE Patent, centred on cartridge design and chip authentication patents, resulting in an injunction stopping sales of the infringing products in Germany.
According to JUVE Patent, HP has won a patent infringement case in the Munich Regional Court against Ninestar subsidiary CaiLuo Technology. The dispute concerned the design of HP inkjet printer cartridges, specifically chip‑based memory and authentication systems used to verify cartridge status in the printer.
JUVE reports that the court found CaiLuo had infringed HP’s patents. As a result, the company must stop selling the affected inkjet cartridges in Germany. The court also issued an injunction prohibiting further distribution of the infringing products.
CaiLuo Technology is a Ninestar group company but is not a market‑facing brand like G&G, Pantum or Static Control. It is understood to operate mainly as a manufacturing and intellectual property‑holding entity within the group, which may explain why the name is less familiar to many in the industry.
HP was represented in the case by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The OEM has a long history of enforcing its intellectual property rights in Europe and globally, using both design and technology patents to challenge aftermarket cartridge sales.
Germany remains one of the most active European jurisdictions for OEM cartridge enforcement, due to its fast‑moving patent courts and the strategic value of restricting sales in the EU’s largest single market. In recent years, OEMs including Canon, Epson and Brother have brought multiple actions before German courts, often resulting in injunctions against resellers and importers.
For the aftermarket, these rulings can have immediate commercial impact. Injunctions are typically enforceable from the date of the decision, forcing distributors and resellers to withdraw products from sale. Where product designs cannot be quickly modified to avoid infringement, suppliers may face long‑term loss of access to the German market.
The CaiLuo decision underscores the continuing risks for companies importing or selling third‑party cartridges in the EU without confirming full compliance with OEM patents. It also highlights the growing importance of chip technology in inkjet cartridges as a focal point for litigation.
The ruling comes as the Unified Patent Court (UPC) begins to take on more European patent disputes. However, many OEMs still prefer to file cases in national courts such as Munich, Düsseldorf or Mannheim, where they have long‑established strategies and legal precedents in their favour.
Source: JUVE Patent – full report here
