HP settles lawsuit over ink-blocking printer update, with no payout or admission of wrongdoing

What just happened? A lawsuit against HP over a firmware update that prevented its printers from being compatible with non-HP ink and toner has had its settlement approved by a judge. However, HP doesn’t have to admit to any wrongdoing or pay any customers affected by the 2020 update.

HP’s November 2020 firmware update enabled, or re-enabled, the company’s Dynamic Security system in some printer models. This detects non-HP ink or toner cartridges, even those that are fully functional and previously worked, blocking any that aren’t using HP’s security chip or circuitry.

HP claims Dynamic Security protects the printing experience, reduces counterfeit cartridges, and improves security. Everyone else says it’s about making more money since HP sells printers at low margins while ink cartridges make up a lot of revenue for the firm. HP pretty much admitted this in 2023 when an executive boasted about how its ink subscription service was “locking” people in.

In December 2020, two companies filed a class-action suit against HP over the firmware update. The complaint said it essentially acted as malware – adding, deleting or altering code, diminishing the capabilities of HP printers, and rendering the competitors’ supply cartridges incompatible with HP printers.

HP and the plaintiffs reached a settlement in August 2024. Under the terms, HP has agreed to pay $5,000 to the two companies that filed the complaint – Mobile Emergency Housing Corp and Performance Automotive & Tire Center. David Justin Lynch, who was added to the suit as a plaintiff, will also receive $5,000. HP says the payment is “to compensate them for the services they performed on behalf of the classes.” HP will also pay $725,000 in attorneys’ fees and expenses as part of the settlement, which was approved by Judge Susan Van Keulen last week.

However, HP doesn’t have to admit that it did anything wrong, and it won’t be handing over any money to those customers who were affected by the 2020 firmware update.

The settlement also means that users of certain HP LaserJet models – see the full list here – now have the option to decline firmware updates that include Dynamic Security, allowing them to continue using third-party ink. Those with printers on this list can remove Dynamic Security via a firmware update.

The restrictions will remain in place for most HP printers and may still be applied to some older models made after 2016 that aren’t part of the settlement.

This is just one of several lawsuits HP has faced over Dynamic Security, including one in Italy where it was fined $12 million.

H/t: Ars Technica