Japan's Canon Inc won a patent lawsuit against a recycled ink cartridge supplier as the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal against a lower court decision in favour of the camera and office gear maker.

Canon filed a suit at a Tokyo court in 2004, asking a court injunction to block imports and sales by Tokyo-based Recycle Assist Co of recycled Canon ink cartridges that are refilled with non-Canon ink, claiming the products infringe Canon patents.

The Supreme Court decision is significant for Canon and other printer makers as sales of ink and other consumables represent a substantial portion of their profits. Shares in Canon closed down 1.1 percent at 5,660 yen, outperforming the Nikkei average, which fell 2.02 percent.

(Reporting by Kentaro Hamada, editing by Rory Channing, Kiyoshi Takenaka)

Japan Lawsuit