Brother Industries Ltd.

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Brother Industries, Ltd. manufactures and sells communications and printing equipment in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through Printing & Solutions, Machinery, Domino, Nissei, Personal & Home, and Network & Contents segments.

Manufacturers such as Brother, face consumer criticism and regulatory action by seemingly engaging in practices that reduce choice, obfuscate information and accelerate product obsolescence.

DSF & DRM: a misuse of market power

Brother non-industrial printers & copiers hold the third largest market share in the Asia Pacific region and are a popular choice for home and small business users. Brother's monochromatic, colour, multi-function, laser and inkjet printers offer a low-price entry and are sold at most large box retailers where consumables such as toners and cartridges are also readily available.

Within the printer category at the largest office and stationery retailer in Australia: Officeworks, Brother is the most represented brand. Officeworks has 170 locations and largely dominates the market. This gives Brother a significant presence within the retail and on-line buying space and adds to the demand for servicing, repair and ink & toner replacements for their machines.

End users have reported that Brother has initiated various methods to limit or reduce functionality on many printers prior and during usage. This includes:

• 3rd party consumable lockout on various printer models.
• Reduction in print capacity via software, firmware and hardware.
• Disabling of functionality via print counters, software and firmware.
• Nagware screens or pop-ups indicating firmware or software should be updated (see case study below).
• Limited or obfuscated information regarding effects of software or firmware update implementation.

This follows similar practices from manufacturers like HP forcing a "Dynamic Security Feature" (DSF) and Dymo implementing "Digital Rights Management" (DRM) via firmware updates thus limiting the end user to officially sanctioned replacement parts only.

Disclosure: case study

We present here the following email transcript (WIP) to clarify whether Brother engages in functionality alteration via firmware updates.

Start Transcript

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Sent: 27/01/2025 12:04pm

Firmware Changelog: additional detail required prior to update

Our business runs a print station with the HL-L2395DW model. Recently we have a "Firmware Update Available" notification on the LCD touchscreen but we cannot find any detailed information from Brother on what the update actually implements. As this machine is working as intended we are hesitant to confirm the update before understanding what features / benefits this may add and are looking for Brother to provide further information before proceeding.

Could you please provide answers to the following questions:

1. What features / benefits are added or reduced with this firmware?
2. Does the firmware change any privacy related policies such as the collection of our business data?
3. Does the firmware change the current functioning of the printer in any way?
4. Does the firmware limit or restrict the future functioning of the printer in any way?
5. Does the firmware limit or restrict the use of 3rd party consumables in any way? eg. toner, drum, etc.
6. Are we able to rollback to a previous firmware version if we find the new firmware unsuitable?

Received: 28/01/25 5:31am from Customer Support Brother USA

Dear (redacted),

This email support is based in the USA. Firmware versions sometimes have regional variations, so we would recommend contacting Brother support in Australia.

We rarely get more details than "Improvement to help with the performance of the machine".

At your side,

Mike

Customer Care USA

Sent: 28/01/25 8:58am

Emailed Brother Australia (through webpage) as per original and as per USA support advice.

Received: 28/01/25 4:38pm from Brother International (Aust)

Hi (redacted),

Thank you for your email.

Upon checking on the resource that's available to us the only information regarding the update is just:

• Improvement to help with the performance of the machine.

I actually advise our customers that it's not necessary to update the firmware unless the machine is experiencing an issue, also because updating the firmware is very delicate and can damage the machine if there's a sudden power outage while updating.

Since your machine is working fine, you should be good even you don't update to the latest firmware as this is just for some minor bug fixes (if there is) and minor performance improvement.

Also to answer your questions:

1. What features / benefits are added or reduced with this firmware? Minor performance improvement

2. Does the firmware change any privacy related policies such as the collection of our business data? No

3. Does the firmware change the current functioning of the printer in any way? No

4. Does the firmware limit or restrict the future functioning of the printer in any way? No

5. Does the firmware limit or restrict the future servicing of the printer in any way? No

6. Does the firmware limit or restrict the use of 3rd party consumables in any way? eg. toner, drum, etc. No

7. Are we able to rollback to a previous firmware version if we find the new firmware unsuitable? Unfortunately, as of the moment No

Hope I was able to answer your concern.

John

Customer Care Team

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End Transcript

As clarified above, there is no detail customer support can add as to what additional functionality (if any) is implemented in these firmware updates - there is currently no way to roll back an update should something change or not work.

Solution: AIR

Currently the most practical way to halt this type of deceptive manufacturer behaviour is to:

1. Abstain from supporting companies that are known to engage in anti-consumer practice.
2. Inform the community if the product you own is affected by any of the practices implemented these companies.
3. Research BEFORE you buy, use or update your product.

If you need additional information regarding printer firmware: LD Blog

References

1. Australian Consumer Law: S18 S29 S33
2. HP PPS Australia Legal Case: undertaking outcome
3. Statistica: Printers & Copiers - Australia Overview Retrieved January 28, 2025.
4. Shaak, Erin (October 11, 2018). "Class Action Claims Brother International Designed Laser Printers to Require Premature Toner Replacement". ClassAction.org. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
5. Edwards, Jessy (August 19, 2024) "HP agrees to settlement in overpriced, incompatible ink cartridge class action". Top Class Actions. Retrieved January 28, 2025.