Automatic Litterbox Central

Ok, I received a copy of the letter. I'm going to black out the information on who the letter was sent to for privacy reasons and upload it later. This is bogus. I can't believe CatGenie is trying to take away our rights.

According to the letter, they are all required to recall all units sold as well as report the number of units sold and how much they made. They are required to recall all material, printed or online, discussing the units and their functions as well.

WOW!!!

I'm getting ready to create a huge PR headache for CatGenie on this matter. I'm going to build a website exposing them and making them look bad. They wanna play hard? So can we.

Perhaps the other guy had some sort of family emergency and could no longer devote time to these devices or moved, or got a new job? You really never know. As far as Catman's devices, I would guess that he's markin' em down cause they may not work with the new 120 unit and he's tryin to deplete his inventory before coming out with a newer model that will support both CG models. Speculation abounds!

No one believed me, and attacked me.

On a different note, interesting but me thinks this Rob Diablo is Gameparts.

Here is a copy of the letter CatGenie is sending out to anyone who is making and selling reset devices. I blacked out some information as to keep the identity of this person private.

By the way, this is not gameparts. That really makes no sense!

My guess is you are gameparts, because your only posts are about this and in support of gameparts product once he launched it. Besides, how else would you get a copy of this letter. Either you are Gameparts or a friend of his. I do not care, but you should be honest.

There are only 2 people manufacturing, and promoting here. Catman has continued to sell, but Game parts has not and has disappeared and your only posts were supporting him when he started selling and promoting, so you probably are not catman or a friend of his.

Scrubbythecat wrote:My guess is you are gameparts, because your only posts are about this and in support of gameparts product once he launched it. Besides, how else would you get a copy of this letter. Either you are Gameparts or a friend of his. I do not care, but you should be honest.

There are only 2 people manufacturing, and promoting here. Catman has continued to sell, but Game parts has not and has disappeared and your only posts were supporting him when he started selling and promoting, so you probably are not catman or a friend of his.

First, if I were gameparts, I think I would've posted as such, I would have nothing to gain or lose by posting about this so hiding my identity as someone else doesn't make any sense. This is a post about CatGenie banning devices, nothing about gameparts or catman and who's device is better, etc... So get your story straight.

Yes, I wrote about his device because I did get one and I did like it, so did many others on here, about both gameparts and catman, so is catman really the people posting positive info about his device? Come on now. Get real. This isn't highschool and he said, she said. And those were'nt the only posts I made.

Oh wait, you're a new user too! So you must be CatMan! See how ridiculous that sounds!

And whether I was a friend or not, which I'm not, this post has nothing to do with supporting a friend. IT'S A POST ABOUT CATGENIE BANNING RESET DEVICES and taking away our rights. So move on with your speculations, it's tiring.

Look what I just found about Mr. Scrubbythecat..... wow! And you are one to talk...

From another forum posting about how scrubby defends catgenie!

catgenie/topic2903.html

Re: Voided Warranty due to substitute solution ruining unit

Postby psu1994ca » Wed May 06, 2009 11:25 am
I am going to go out on a limb here and call Bull Sh*$. No offense Scrubbythecat ... but here is my case and I will let others make their own decision...

First looking at you:

1. Almost all your posts revolve around sales and deals on the Cat Genie unit. Out of 22 Posts: 9 revolve around sales prices and sales from the company
2. The rest of your posts are defending the company or pushing the product. For someone that post so infrequently you are very quick to defend the company or sell the porduct.

Now your claim:

1. In looking at the product you use there is nothing in it that would corrode silicone.
2. You dilute the product almost to the point of running water so it would be nearly impossible to test for residue and prove it was another product being used.
3. The cost and time of a lab test to determine a different product was used would be difficult and time consuming.
4. The needle insertion makes no sense since the increase rate of rubber coming into contact would be no different on a new vs old cartridge.
5. If the product you used was strong enough to eat through silicone it would have a corrosive warning because it would not be safe for contact with human hands. Alone it does not have a warning... so once you dilute it there would be even less of an effect.

Maybe I am wrong... maybe you got screwed... maybe you are just an honest person that loves to sell the product and defend the company. Hell I was accused of working for the company in another forum because I defended the product... but if I was a betting man.. i say you live and work in Wayne, PA.

At the date and time of this post, smartcartridgereset.com is still up, and they still have a listing on amazon.com along with one other person selling a similar device.

http://www.smartcartridgereset.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Genie-Smart-Cartridge-Reset-Programmer/dp/B001O80LLK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1246164076&sr=8-10
http://www.amazon.com/Genie-Connect-Cartridge-ReSet-ReFill/dp/B001M29A56/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1246164076&sr=8-6

CatGenie, if you are really doing this, then shame on you. How dare you violate consumer's rights, and twist and distort copyright law to suit your own ends without any regard for your customers.

You want to stop reset devices without losing your customers? Then make a refillable or resetable cartridge and sell your sanisolution in bulk sizes.

Shame on you CatGenie. Shame, shame, shame.

Petnovations themselves are in direct violation of the laws regarding the manufacturing and selling of chemicals in the USA. Petnovations claims and implies that their "proprietary" solution which they have suggestively named "Sani" solution actually "sanitizes" the CatGenie. NO COMPANY can make a "Sanitize" claim WITHOUT PRIOR EPA REGISTRATION. Petnovations LIES, MISLEADS and MAKES FALSE CLAIMS to it's customs that it's solution is Pet Safe yet they have FAILED to file for or obtain proper EPA registrations for their solution.

Perhaps a class-action lawsuit is in order!

Everyone should call the EPA and report them!

Petnovations, People that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!!!

It is also my understanding that the CatGenie is not UL listed, and they are publishing a MSDS for the SaniSolution which is not OSHA approved.

I know I sometimes seem heavily critical of the CatGenie but I have at heart always wished the best for the company. I can no longer say that if the information regarding the company's actions which has been posted so far in this thread is true.

And this is coming from someone who is not even refilling cartridges.

That letter is juat a scare tactic.
There is no "software" on the cartridge. Its just a simple hex code.

Rich33527 wrote:That letter is juat a scare tactic.
There is no "software" on the cartridge. Its just a simple hex code.

The code sent to the cartridge is right from the data sheet for the I2C chip. When reset to 60, this simply restores the factory setting in the cartridge.

The letter looks like it was done on a typewriter. What law firm has typewriters these days?

While everybody is debating (or even complaining) "their rights" what about the "rights" of PetNovations to protect their intellectual property in whatever way they see fit? PetNovations has probably invested hundreds if not millions into the development of a product which they felt had value to the owners of cats. Patents and copyrights provide a level of protection to those who develop intellectual property so they can recoup their investment, and yes, even profit from it.

Our "rights" as customers of PetNovations products are outlined in the warranty that came with the purchase of the product. If you don't like the terms of the warranty, then use your "rights" and don't buy or use the product.

From what I've seen here, most of us are very satisfied customers. I think we all knew the on-going costs of using the product which would require purchasing Sanisolution cartridges and pellets. PetNovations offers supplies at a price they think the market will bear. And there are probably thousands of customers that are more than happy to pay what PetNovations and their distributors offer.

Some people, for whatever reason, felt that the cost of replacement supplies was excessive. So they found a way to refill cartridges and use alternatives to the pellets. Great...nobody's rights have been trampled, although the terms of the warranty for a customer who chooses to refill a cartridge seem to have been voided.

Now, though, when someone wants to profit by selling kits that enable the refilling of cartridges, that may be an infringement of PetNovations intellectual property. Whether or not it is truly an infringement is up to our legal system to decide. PetNovations does have the right to seek protection under the law. So, if the manufacturers of the refill devices and kits feel that PetNovations doesn't have a legal basis to stop them from selling their kits, then they can take their case though the legal system. It will probably require significant financial resources to do so, but if they prevail, then they can recover legal costs from PetNovations.

I'm not taking one side or the other on this debate. I just recognize that PetNovations has a great product and they have every right to pursue legal action against those they may feel have violated their intellectual property. And the manufactures of the refill kits have a right to seek relief under the law if intellectual property has not been compromised.

tomfisk2 wrote:While everybody is debating (or even complaining) "their rights" what about the "rights" of PetNovations to protect their intellectual property in whatever way they see fit? PetNovations has probably invested hundreds if not millions into the development of a product which they felt had value to the owners of cats. Patents and copyrights provide a level of protection to those who develop intellectual property so they can recoup their investment, and yes, even profit from it.

But that's just it, refilling cartridges does NOT infringe upon PetNovation's intellectual rights and properties. PetNovations has the right to manufacture and sell their own devices but under our capitalist system, they do NOT have the right to force consumers to only buy their cartridges.

tomfisk2 wrote:Our "rights" as customers of PetNovations products are outlined in the warranty that came with the purchase of the product. If you don't like the terms of the warranty, then use your "rights" and don't buy or use the product.

Our "rights" are not guaranteed and regulated by some company's warranty but rather by law! Any company is free to write anything they wish in their warranty agreement however it's the law that determines what is admissible and what is not. Our judicial system of legal precedences has already made it abundantly clear that the refilling of consumable products does NOT violate patents or intellectual property rights. Legally, anyone's allowed to refill printer cartridges. CatGenie cartridges should be no different.

tomfisk2 wrote:From what I've seen here, most of us are very satisfied customers. I think we all knew the on-going costs of using the product which would require purchasing Sanisolution cartridges and pellets. PetNovations offers supplies at a price they think the market will bear. And there are probably thousands of customers that are more than happy to pay what PetNovations and their distributors offer.

Some people, for whatever reason, felt that the cost of replacement supplies was excessive. So they found a way to refill cartridges and use alternatives to the pellets. Great...nobody's rights have been trampled, although the terms of the warranty for a customer who chooses to refill a cartridge seem to have been voided.

Now, though, when someone wants to profit by selling kits that enable the refilling of cartridges, that may be an infringement of PetNovations intellectual property. Whether or not it is truly an infringement is up to our legal system to decide. PetNovations does have the right to seek protection under the law. So, if the manufacturers of the refill devices and kits feel that PetNovations doesn't have a legal basis to stop them from selling their kits, then they can take their case though the legal system. It will probably require significant financial resources to do so, but if they prevail, then they can recover legal costs from PetNovations.

PetNovations should have realized from current practices that it would have only been a matter of time before people figure out how to refill their cartridges. They should have therefore taken steps to manufacture their cartridges in such as way as to safeguard against such practices. Since you can't legally prevent people from refilling, the only means left is to engineer unfillable, tamper-proof cartridges. THIS was PetNovation's error!