French investigate Epson for ‘deliberately reducing printer life’

Prosecutors in France are investigating whether Epson deliberately reduces the lifespan of printers and cartridges to force customers to buy replacements.

The Japanese company is the first to be investigated under a French law that makes it a criminal offence to shorten a product’s life in order “to increase the rate of replacement”.

France is thought to be the only country with such a law, though the European Commission is considering similar legislation across the EU.

The lawsuit has been brought by French campaign group Halte à l’obsolescence Programmée (The Stop the Obsolescence Program). It claims Epson’s ink cartridges are programmed to stop working when there is still 20 per cent of the ink left.

Laetitia Vasseur, the association’s founder, said French consumers have been “scandalised by the short lifespan of printers and ink cartridges”.

The group also slams Epson for the price of its printer cartridges, saying: “2,062 Euros per litre of ink. That’s twice as much as Chanel No. 5 perfume”.

In addition it has accused Brother, Canon and HP of planned obsolescence, though only Epson is being investigated.

If found guilty, Epson faces a €300,000 fine that can be increased to five per cent of the company’s average turnover from the past three years, while executives from the company could be jailed for two years.

Consumers have long suspected companies of using planned obsolescence. In particular, they’ve accused printer manufacturers of setting an artificial lifespan for printer cartridges.

But some experts say there’s no evidence that planned obsolescence exists. A 2013 study by the University of Bonn in Germany on a dozen electrical appliances – including TVS, kettles and vacuum cleaners – found no proof of “deliberate vulnerability”.