IP Fortresses and Voices of Renewal: The Future of Circulation Reflected in Printer Lawsuits (Fall 2007)
In 2007, the Japanese Supreme Court handed down two decisions. Canon and Recycle-Assist, and Epson and Ecolica. This was the moment when the patent barriers and the ideal of reuse collided head-on. A nation with a strategy of becoming an intellectual property powerhouse would allow manufacturers to enforce their patent rights and promote enclosure. Meanwhile, under the environmental policy advocating a recycling-oriented society, small and medium-sized recyclers were expanding their collection campaigns together with citizens.
Canon won and Epson lost. However, the contrasting rulings highlighted the twists and turns in the two systems of intellectual property and the environment. Even within a company, the IP department and the environmental department operate according to different logics. Profit or ethics? Technology or the earth? The questions are still up in the air.
The genuine products with embedded IC chips that refuse to be recycled, or the recyclers who still believe in ecology and are searching for new technologies. The choice is up to the consumer. In the fall of 2007, it was a small battle, but it was also a deep mirror reflecting the course of the future.
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