Canon Ink DRM: Difference between revisions

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== Overview ==
==Overview==
[[Digital-rights management]] (DRM) is a practice used by many major printer manufacturers, including [[HP]]<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/11/23635168/hp-printer-update-brick-third-party-ink-dynamic-security</ref>, [[Dymo]]<ref>https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/02/worst-timeline-printer-company-putting-drm-paper-now</ref>, [[Lexmark]]<ref>https://www.vice.com/en/article/hp-remotely-kills-perfectly-good-ink-cartridge-with-drm/</ref> and [[Canon]]. The manufacturers include silicon chips as part of the ink cartridges that can identify a cartridge as coming directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) as opposed to an aftermarket alternative, which is often cheaper. When aftermarket cartridges are inserted, some printers will display a message suggesting the supposed dangers of using non-genuine ink and have in the past, disabled device functionality when aftermarket ink is installed.<ref>https://www.wired.com/2016/09/hp-printer-drm/</ref>
[[Digital rights management]] (DRM) is a practice used by many major printer manufacturers, including [[HP]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=11 Mar 2023 |title=HP is blocking third-party printer ink again |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/11/23635168/hp-printer-update-brick-third-party-ink-dynamic-security |url-status=live |access-date=20 Mar 2025 |website=The Verge}}</ref>, [[Dymo]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doctorow |first=Cory |date=15 Feb 2022 |title=The Worst Timeline: A Printer Company Is Putting DRM in Paper Now |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/02/worst-timeline-printer-company-putting-drm-paper-now |url-status=live |access-date=20 Mar 2025 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation}}</ref>, [[Lexmark]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gault |first=Matthew |date=21 Jan 2020 |title=HP Remotely Kills Perfectly Good Ink Cartridge With DRM |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/hp-remotely-kills-perfectly-good-ink-cartridge-with-drm/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 Mar 2025 |website=Vice}}</ref> and [[Canon]]. The manufacturers include silicon chips as part of the ink cartridges that can identify a cartridge as coming directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) as opposed to an aftermarket alternative, which is often cheaper. When aftermarket cartridges are inserted, some printers will display a message suggesting the supposed dangers of using non-genuine ink and have in the past, disabled device functionality when aftermarket ink is installed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barret |first=Brian |date=23 Sep 2016 |title=HP Has Added DRM to Its Ink Cartridges. Not Even Kidding (Updated) |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/09/hp-printer-drm/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 Mar 2025 |website=Wired}}</ref> The DRM chip also prevents the OEM ink cartridges from being refilled, it communicates to the printer that the specific cartridge has already been used.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Gault |first=Matthew |date=11 Jan 2022 |title=Canon Tells Customers to Break Its Printer Cartridge DRM Due to Chip Shortage |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/canon-tells-customers-to-break-its-printer-cartridge-drm-due-to-chip-shortage/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 Mar 2025 |website=Vice}}</ref>


== Incident ==
==Incident==
During the global chip shortage from 2020–2023, Canon had difficulty obtaining chips used in their printer ink cartridges. This resulted in genuine Canon ink cartridges behaving as if they were aftermarket cartridges when inserted into some Canon printers. A support page on the Canon website was created that instructed customers to ignore the warning or error messages that appeared as a result, stating this would cause "no negative effects on print quality."<ref>Original: [https://www.canon.de/support/business/interim-toner/ Canon Support - Germany] Archived Dec 31st 2023: [https://web.archive.org/web/20231231021849/https://www.canon.de/support/business/interim-toner/ archive.org]</ref>
During the global chip shortage from 2020–2023, Canon had difficulty obtaining chips used in their printer ink cartridges. This resulted in genuine Canon ink cartridges behaving as if they were aftermarket cartridges when inserted into some Canon printers. A support page on the Canon website was created that instructed customers to ignore the warning or error messages that appeared as a result, stating this would cause "no negative effects on print quality."<ref>Original: [https://www.canon.de/support/business/interim-toner/ Canon Support - Germany] Archived Dec 31st 2023: [https://web.archive.org/web/20231231021849/https://www.canon.de/support/business/interim-toner/ archive.org]</ref>


== Aftermath ==
==Aftermath==
Canon's instructions to customers in its support page to ignore these printer warning messages drew attention on social media from tech news outlets that considered the practice anti-competitive,<ref>https://gizmodo.com/printer-cartridge-debacle-forces-canon-to-tell-customer-1848332901</ref> with Vice stating: "as consumers and digital rights activists have been pointing out for ages, Canon essentially admits that its own DRM is absolutely not necessary.”<ref>https://www.vice.com/en/article/canon-tells-customers-to-break-its-printer-cartridge-drm-due-to-chip-shortage/</ref>
Canon's instructions to customers in its support page to ignore these printer warning messages drew attention on social media from tech news outlets that considered the practice anti-competitive,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tracy |first=Phillip |date=11 Jan 2022 |title=Printer Cartridge Debacle Forces Canon to Tell Customers How to Break DRM |url=https://gizmodo.com/printer-cartridge-debacle-forces-canon-to-tell-customer-1848332901 |url-status=live |access-date=20 Mar 2025 |website=GizModo}}</ref> with Vice stating: "as consumers and digital rights activists have been pointing out for ages, Canon essentially admits that its own DRM is absolutely not necessary.”<ref name=":0" />


== References ==
==References==
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[[Category:Canon]]
[[Category:Canon]]
[[Category:Articles based on videos]]