Lexmark vs. SCC....you guys stole from us!!

Wal-mart...ahh. Gotta love the smell of trailers wafting on the breeze....Chili Slaw dogs from the food court...toothless skeksi from the dark crystal running around picking up 12 packs of natural light and 14 cartons of kamel reds...oh...and the Lexmark Printers.

Lexmark decided to get angry (link <A HREF="http://www.ccianet.org/press/03/0701.php3" target="_new">here</A> ) with a Static Control Components (SCC) who make toner carts for companies like HP and Xerox. Seems that SCC has an infringement with automatic toner cartridge recognition software...or do they? SCC claims <A HREF="http://www.scc-inc.com/special/oemwarfare/pdf_lawsuit/3_03_03_Press Release-Announcement.pdf" target="_new">here </A> (pdf format) that Lexmark is simply trying to monopolize the market. Monopolize indeed as Lexmark jockied into the #2 slot with a <A HREF="http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/international/stories/84944.html" target="_new">31%</A> share last year largely due to availability and (duh) affordability thanks to the little yellow happy face that whistles and drops prices at Wal-Mart.

So what does all of this mean? Well, we could very well have on our hands another Microsoft in the next couple of years in Lexmark...in the printer market. Of course, this is allowing that they win this current litigation...then they would copyright toner recognition software for ALL printers. So raise your THGC glass of pseudo-bubbly in cheer...Here's to mega-conglomerates dominating the market, price fixing, and mashing competition that allows for product improvement. Ahh...isn't capatilism great!?

<font color=purple>Would you like to help SCC <A HREF="http://www.scc-inc.com/special/oemwarfare/pdf_lawsuit/funding_the_fight.pdf" target="_new">fight</A> (pdf format) the printer giant?</font color=purple>
or
<font color=purple>Would you like to <A HREF="http://www.pacult.com/imgs/wall/yousuck.gif" target="_new">help Lexmark </A>become even larger?

<font color=red>To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.</font color=red>
<font color=green>Farmers' Almanac, 1978</font color=green>

TKS