Europe’s repair rules are moving from principle to practice. Directive (EU) 2024/1799 on the repair of goods — commonly called the Right to Repair Directive — was published in July 2024, and Member States must apply the transposed national rules from 31 July 2026. The Directive pushes manufacturers to offer repair within a reasonable time and at a reasonable price, to make spare parts available at reasonable prices, and to publish indicative prices for typical repairs. It also prohibits contractual clauses or hardware and software techniques that impede repair without a legitimate justification. Alongside the parallel Ecodesign framework, which addresses durability, spare-part availability and resource efficiency across product groups, the direction of travel is clear: products, including office equipment, are meant to last longer and stay serviceable.
For the printing aftermarket, one point matters above all. The Directive is designed so that manufacturers cannot unfairly block independent repairers from using original, second-hand, compatible or even 3D-printed spare parts — provided those parts comply with applicable law, including product-safety and intellectual-property rules. That last condition is the line that separates a healthy aftermarket from an illegal one. First-quality compatible and remanufactured cartridges, built to respect valid patents and made to recognised page-yield standards such as ISO/IEC 19752, 19798 and 24711, are a legitimate part of consumer choice. Patent-infringing ‘clones’ — the goods that get seized at EU borders — are not, and no reputable supplier deals in them. The framework strengthens the case for genuine, standards-based alternatives while leaving no room for counterfeits.
None of this pits compatibles against the OEM brands; the point is choice and longevity. A well-serviced Brother, OKI, Canon, Ricoh, Kyocera or HP machine, kept running with the right consumables and spare parts, is exactly what these rules are meant to encourage. Ergonet works on both sides of that equation — as an authorised reseller of OEM printers and original supplies, and as a supplier of first-quality compatible and remanufactured toner, ink, drums and spare parts, backed by service. Our reading of the 2026 rules is simply this: buyers gain more freedom to repair and to choose, and quality-focused, legally sound consumables are set to matter more, not less.
Source: European Commission