Appeal court rules resale without packaging is legal.
The Dutch Court of Appeal in The Hague has ruled that selling original HP ink and toner cartridges without their outer packaging does not infringe HP’s trademark rights. The decision, handed down on 8 April 2025, overturns an earlier ruling and prohibits HP from enforcing penalties related to earlier disclosure orders.
The case covered both inkjet cartridges and laser toner cartridges. HP claimed that the removal of the outer packaging harmed its trademarks by concealing warranty dates, product origin, and safety information. The court rejected these claims and ruled that neither the origin function nor the brand reputation function of the HP trademarks was affected.
For inkjet cartridges, the court found that although the packaging included warranty information, this was not essential for consumers to identify the product as genuine. HP’s claim that ink quality degrades over time was also dismissed as speculative. For toner cartridges, which carry no factory warranty, the court rejected HP’s argument that standard packaging design contributed to brand image or safety compliance.
The court concluded that there was no trademark infringement in either case, and HP’s packaging is not a protected element of its trademarks.
However, HP succeeded on one narrow point under Dutch trade practices law. The court ruled that if cartridges originate from recycling or third-party resale channels, 123inkt must clearly inform customers if those products may be several years old. No such obligation applies to customer-returned stock that is recent and unused.
HP was ordered to pay the legal costs of Digital Revolution B.V. (123inkt) in both the original and appeal proceedings.
The earlier story titled “HP wins cartridge packaging case”, published on 15 May 2025, incorrectly reported the outcome and has now been withdrawn. We regret the error and thank 123inkt’s legal team for bringing the matter to our attention.
