"Lexmark to Bring Litigation-Winning Approach to Auto Industry"

April 1, 2004 Lexington, KY -- Printer manufacturer Lexmark is proud to announce it will enter the automotive market with a line of cars featuring its exclusive Aftermarket Product Integrity Guarantee (A-PIG) technology.

"Lexmark's innovative edge has been in finding bold new ways of protecting its intellectual property," said Sue Moore, newly appointed CEO of Lexmark Motors. "We believe our experience applying the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and shrinkwrap licenses to hard goods will serve us well in this new venture."

Lexmark's first automobile model, the MarkedOne, will be equipped with a complete set of A-PIG devices protected by the DMCA. Tires, sparkplugs, batteries, fanbelts, the engine, and many other parts will undergo an A-PIG check during each ignition of the car. Should any non-Lexmark brand aftermarket products be detected, the ignition will fail. "Just as we try to guarantee our printer customers' satisfaction by making sure they only use Lexmark-brand consumables, we want our automotive customers to enjoy a Lexmark-only driving experience as long as they own the car," Moore said.

The MarkedOne's A-PIG technology is based on the chipset the company includes in laser printer toner cartridges to prevent the use of third-party products. Moore pointed out that Lexmark's right to apply DMCA protection to such devices was endorsed by a court last year in its case against Static Control Components Inc. "If I may be allowed to paraphrase what the judge said when granting our injunction, the public policy benefit of ensuring competition must take a back seat to our right to prevent copyright infringement," Moore said.

Lexmark Motors will borrow another concept from printer technology with the MarkedOne's innovative gasoline cartridge. "No MarkedOne owner will ever run out of gas on the highway," Moore explained. When the disposable gasoline cartridge is less than a third full, the automobile will not start until the gas cartridge is replaced by one full of Lexmark-authorized gasoline. Should a motorist inadvertently run out of spare cartridges, Lexmark Motors dealers will offer same-day cartridge delivery service for a modest mark-up.

In addition to its host of copyright-protection features, the MarkedOne will also be the first vehicle with a shrinkwrap license. As with its revolutionary "Prebate" agreement for toner cartridges, Lexmark's car will come with an automatic discount in exchange for the customer's acceptance of a license agreement. In opening the driver-side door for the first time, the new owner of a MarkedOne agrees not to ever sell the car to a third party. Instead, the car can only be used as a trade-in for a new Lexmark vehicle. "We are very proud of the fact that Lexmark established the right to restrict the sale of hard goods in this way in our case against the Arizona Cartridge Remanufacturers Association," said Moore. "It's high time other industries demonstrate that customers don't have the right to sell their possessions to just anyone they choose."

Due to the lack of progressive laws like the DMCA in other countries, the Lexmark MarkedOne will only be sold domestically. "Where else but in the good ol' US of A can you copyright a printer or a car?" Moore noted. "It just makes me proud to be an American."

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainites include, among others, the fact that it was written by Ed Foster as an April's Fool joke. Basing stock investment decisions on the information contained in this release might not be the best idea you ever had. On the other hand, you might want to keep it in mind the next time you're buying a printer.

--------------------

Post your comments about this column below or write me directly at Foster@gripe2ed.com. To receive this column every week in my free e-mail newsletter, please go to my subscription page and follow the instructions to opt-in for the EdFoster mailing list.