My OEM equipment salesperson is telling me that buying your batteries will void my equipment warranty. Can they do that?

Q: My OEM equipment salesperson is telling me that buying your batteries will void my equipment warranty. Can they do that?

No. In recent years we have heard sales people from numerous OEM equipment manufacturers make the claim that use of any battery but the OEM's will result in the OEM voiding the warranty on the equipment. Not only is this illegal under both US and European law, but in many instances directly violates the OEM's own policy. For instance, Motorola / Symbol Technologies addressed this issue in their Product Marketing Bulletin #1114 where they explicitly state: “It is critical that you understand that a customer's warranty is not automatically voided simply because that customer purchased a third party battery. We may not say or imply that. Also, you may not state that a third party product will damage the unit, impair performance or cause safety concerns unless you have been advised by Symbol Legal that there is testing to validate the claim. False claims regarding the quality, safety or performance of a competitive product can expose the Company to liability.” For more information click here . If you have questions regarding antitrust laws in the US or you feel your company has been threatened you can contact the Department of Justice Antitrust Division at 888-647-3258 or visit their website at www.usdoj.gov/atr .

No. In recent years we have heard sales people from numerous OEM equipment manufacturers make the claim that use of any battery but the OEM’s will result in the OEM voiding the warranty on the equipment. Not only is this illegal under both US and European law, but in many instances directly violates the OEM’s own policy. For instance, Motorola / Symbol Technologies addressed this issue in their Product Marketing Bulletin #1114 where they explicitly state:

“It is critical that you understand that a customer’s warranty is not automatically voided simply because that customer purchased a third party battery. We may not say or imply that. Also, you may not state that a third party product will damage the unit, impair performance or cause safety concerns unless you have been advised by Symbol Legal that there is testing to validate the claim. False claims regarding the quality, safety or performance of a competitive product can expose the Company to liability.”

For more information click here. If you have questions regarding antitrust laws in the US or you feel your company has been threatened you can contact the Department of Justice Antitrust Division at 888-647-3258 or visit their website at www.usdoj.gov/atr.