Licence to print money revoked

Think printer ink costs too much? Thankfully, a court finally agrees. Printer giant Lexmark had sued a competitor making replacement cartridges on the basis that the upstart had no right to bypass the circuitry in its machines designed to prevent such an outcome.

Happily for consumers, the US federal appeals court judge has ruled Lexmark was out of of order and the rival is free to go ahead and sell cheaper refills. Lexmark isn't the only offender trying on this caper but maybe the printer moguls might be less inclined in the future to muscle out the little guys, leading to more competition and lower prices for the rest of us.

After all, this is an industry which charges seven times more for its product than the equivalent amount of vintage champagne.