On 9 July 2021, the Procurator General of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (“PG”) gave an advisory opinion in response to a judgment of the Court of Appeal of Amsterdam.[1] In short, the case in question concerns whether HP (a manufacturer and seller of printers and cartridges) acts unlawfully by installing so-called dynamic security software on its printers. This software blocks the use of non-HP cartridges.
The claimant is a foundation named ‘123inkt-huismerk klanten’ (the “Foundation”), which was founded by the directors of Digital Revolution B.V., a company selling printer cartridges blocked by HP’s software. The Foundation initiated a claim against HP on behalf of consumers who have bought these cartridges, demanding a ban on the use of the software in the HP printers. The Foundation opted to proceed via the assignment route, which involves the consumers assigning their claims to the Foundation. This meant that the Foundation acted as the formal litigant on behalf of these consumers.
Later in the proceedings, however, the Foundation tried to change its claim to one based on Article 3:305a Dutch Civil Code (“DCC”). In doing so, the Foundation tried to switch from being a formal litigant to a party by representation. According to the PG, a change in litigant status is in violation of due process. In line with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, the PG therefore concluded that the Foundation had no locus standi on the basis of Article 3:305a DCC.[2]
As to whether or not HP was acting unlawfully in using the software, the PG drew a distinction between printers sold before and after 1 December 2016. Regarding the printers sold before 1 December 2016, the PG concluded that the Foundation had no interest in banning the use of the software. This is because HP has removed the software from all these printers, meaning that non-HP cartridges are no longer blocked.
With regard to the printers manufactured after 1 December 2016, the PG concluded, in line with the Court of Appeal, that the use of the software was not necessarily unlawful. The PG argued that HP has a legitimate interest in the use of the software, i.e. to prevent the use of counterfeit cartridges and to avoid reputational damage and possible consumer claims. The PG considered it likely that consumers would attribute negative printer experiences (when using non-HP cartridges) to failure of the printer and thus to HP. Furthermore, HP informs all customers about the software installed in its printers and the consequences thereof. As such, the justification for the use of the software is that the customer has the choice of whether or not to purchase a printer with the dynamic security software built in.
Taking the PG’s conclusion into consideration, the Supreme Court ruled on 24 December 2021 that the complaints could not lead to the annulment of the Court of Appeal’s judgment (Article 81(1) of the Judicial Organisation Act).[3]
[1] Procurator General of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands 9 July 2021, ECLI:NL:PHR:2021:713
[2] Court of Appeal of Amsterdam 17 December 2019, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2019:4502
[3] Supreme Court of the Netherlands 24 December 2021, ECLI:NL:HR:2021:1950