"Why your warranty is not voided"
Magnuson-Moss
Warranty
Improvement Act
United States Code Annotated
Title 15 Commerce and
Trade
Chapter 50 Consumer Product Warranties 15 Section
2302
(c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition
his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in
connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or
service provided without charge under the tears of the warranty) which is
identified by brand, trade or corporate name; except that the prohibition of
this subsection may be waived by the commission if:
- The warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will
function properly only if the article or service so identified Is used in
connection with the warranted product, and
- The Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public
interest.
How This Affects You The manufacturer of the
printer you are using cannot void the warranty on your printer
because you use a cartridge or refill kit manufactured by someone other than the
printer manufacturer. This prohibition includes the use of compatible cartridges, and remanufactured cartridges.
This is to help prevent against manufacturer monopolies and unfair
pricing practices.
The Sherman and Clayton Antitrust
Law
(IBM vs. The United States)
You
don't have to be intimidated when the printer people tell you they will void
your warranty on your equipment if you do not use the O.E.M. ink or toner. Nor
should you be intimidated if they should try to charge extra because you are not
using the O.E.M. ink or toner. This is illegal for another reason and this is
referred to as product linking, check it out:
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| The Supreme Court (IBM vs. The United States) held that IBM could not
threaten customers with termination of their data processing equipment
leases just because they did not use supplies manufactured by IBM. Such
practice constituted a "tying agreement" and was found to be to violation of
the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Law.
How This Affects You This knowledge can help
you stand up for your right of free choice of supplies vendor because you are
acting within the letter of the law. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and printer service people are aware
of lower priced supplies, so it's in their best interests to convince
you not to use competing products. You can use this information to protect
yourself if they attempt to infringe on your warranty rights.
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