Newsletter
REFUSAL OF AFTER-SALES SERVICE TO USERS OF NON-OEM CONSUMABLES VIOLATES FTL
The FTC recently determined that the action of a well-known computer manufacturer in refusing after-sales repair services to users of consum-ables not manufactured by it violated the FTL. The FTC imposed a time limit for the manufac-turer to end the violation.
Under Article 19 Item 3 of the FTL, a business may not use improper means to induce a trading counterpart of a competitor to trade with it. Where the FTC determines that this provision has been violated, it may impose a time limit for the violator to rectify its conduct, to end the violation or to take necessary corrective action.
The FTC states that the manufacturer in question was awarded a contract to supply computer con-sumables to the Management Information Center (MIC) of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The after-sales service war-ranty which was provided on delivery of the goods stated that where damage to equipment resulted from the use of non-original-brand printer toner cartridges, the company would not provide repair services. For this reason, the MIC refused to perform acceptance tests on the toner cartridges of other companies. The FTC states that the manufacturer's actions harmed the business opportunities of competitors, and in-duced consumers to do business with it in pref-erence to its competitors. This was detrimental to fair market competition and so violated Article 19 Item 3 of the FTL.