Chris sez, “Club Coffee, maker of K-Cup compatible pods, has taken Keurig to court in Ontario, alleging anti-competitive behaviour, including telling retailers that they can’t even talk to Club Coffee, let alone carry its products.”
The core patents on the K-cup have expired and Keurig is trying all kinds of bullshit to maintain monopoly pricing on the pods for its machines, from coffee DRM to this stuff.
Club Coffee’s $600-million lawsuit against coffee supplier and equipment maker Keurig Green Mountain alleges the U.S. chain is flouting the rules to maintain a near monopoly and keep single-serve coffee prices artificially high.
“First, their new brewers have what they claim to be ‘proprietary technology’ that rejects any single serve pods not authorized by them,” a Club Coffee spokesperson told CBC News in an email. “Secondly, Keurig has used the threat of this lockout technology to coerce retailers into exclusive arrangements to sell only Keurig-controlled products.”
Keurig coffee sued for $600M by Ontario-based Club Coffee
[CBC]
(Thanks, Chris!)