Recent investigations conducted by Canon’s Anti-counterfeiting Group into certain third party marketplace sellers have determined that some “multipacks” of counterfeit “Canon” inkjet cartridges bearing the Canon brand have been sold on those forums. Specifically, the sellers of these products have refilled used empty genuine Canon inkjet cartridges bearing the Canon label with non-genuine ink and listed them as genuine Canon cartridges. For their marketplace sales, these sellers used images of genuine Canon retail product packaging and described the products as being in “New” condition in order to deceive consumers into thinking that they were buying new, boxed genuine Canon ink manufactured and packaged for sale by Canon. Canon’s investigations have uncovered that the unsuspecting consumers who purchased these refilled inkjet cartridges actually received unboxed loose cartridges, usually rubber-banded and bubble wrapped for shipping, with no retail box.

The subject inkjet cartridges were determined, upon examination and analysis by Canon, to be re-used genuine Canon cartridges. Ink testing of the contents of those cartridges by Canon determined that they did not contain genuine Canon ink. Furthermore, Canon determined that the orange colored caps that sealed those refilled cartridges were not the genuine caps that Canon uses on its original products despite being misleadingly similar in appearance, color and shape. Lastly, in some instances, the gray plastic wrapper that acts as a seal for genuine Canon inkjet cartridges was also reproduced and used by the counterfeiters to complete the illusion of offering new wrapped Canon genuine inkjet products to the public. Please be advised that counterfeit ink may cause performance and function problems in Canon printers, including leaking, and also may create lesser print quality and less durable printed material over time. Canon reserves the right to refuse warranty service on any Canon printer in which it has been determined that counterfeit ink has been used and has caused the service issue.

Should you suspect that you have purchased counterfeit “Canon” inkjet cartridges, please report it by calling Canon’s anti-counterfeit hotline at 1-855-46-CANON, Mon-Fri, 8am-Midnight EST.

Canon takes this opportunity to remind our consumers that your best assurance of purchasing genuine Canon products is to buy directly from our authorized dealers or Canon Direct. Thank you for being a Canon customer.

¹ Canon cartridges can lawfully be refilled with third party ink and resold if the Canon label is removed and the product is truthfully described in its packaging materials and in any advertising so there is no consumer confusion as to the source of the product and its contents.