Brother International might design its printers and fax machines to display an "empty" read out and shut down, even though plenty of toner remains in the toner cartridge.

Investigation and pending class action against Brother International Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan-based Brother Industries, LTD ("Brother").

Brother markets industrial products, home appliances, and business products for the home, home office and office.

This investigation and pending class action lawsuit alleges that Brother brand laser printers, fax machines and multifunction machines are designed to indicate the toner cartridge is "empty", at which point the machine shuts down all printing operations, even though there is still a significant amount of toner in the cartridge. Additionally, Brother conceals from consumers that a significant amount of toner remains in the toner cartridge at the point the machine indicates the toner is "empty", thus causing consumers to prematurely purchase replacement cartridges and preventing them from using the remainder of the toner in the cartridge. The class action lawsuit alleges that laser printers sold by Brothers are designed to cease all operation and appear empty while substantial toner remains in the toner cartridge(s). As a result, the consumer is deprived of the use of toner that he or she purchased, and is compelled to purchase more toner from Brother sooner than is otherwise necessary.