Kodak: Patents have Been Infringed Upon

This may not be the perfect “Kodak (News - Alert) Moment” for Kodak; but the company believes that it had to do it to protect its intellectual property rights.

 

Recently, Eastman Kodak Company has filed lawsuits against Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Limited alleging the infringement of Kodak digital imaging technology. The company has named Apple’s (News - Alert) iPhones and RIM’s camera-enabled BlackBerry devices as the devices that infringe upon its intellectual rights.

 

The digital imaging technology from Kodak has been licensed to approximately 30 companies, including LG, Motorola (News - Alert), Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, all of which are royalty bearing to Kodak. In the complaint against Apple and RIM, Kodak is seeking from the ITC a limited exclusion order preventing the importation of infringing devices. This includes certain mobile telephones and wireless communication devices featuring digital cameras.

 

According to Kodak, iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry (News - Alert) infringe a Kodak patent that covers technology related to a method for previewing images. The company has filed two suits today against Apple in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York that claim the infringement of patents related to digital cameras and certain computer processes.

 

“Kodak has a long history of digital imaging innovation and we have invested hundreds of millions of dollars creating our industry-leading patent portfolio,” said Laura G. Quatela, chief intellectual property officer, and vice president of Kodak. “In the case of Apple and RIM, we’ve had discussions for years with both companies in an attempt to resolve this issue amicably, and we have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement.”

 

Kodak alleges infringement of two patents generally covering image preview and the processing of images of different resolutions in the first suit against Apple in U.S. District Court. In the second suit, Kodak alleges infringement of patents that describe a method by which a computer program can “ask for help” from another application to carry out certain computer-oriented functions.

 

Recently, the company announced its new KODAK PULSE Digital Frame. This touchscreen-enabled frame is equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity and a personal e-mail address so consumers can easily send pictures wirelessly to the frame from a computer, from Facebook (News - Alert) and KODAK Gallery sites, or from any device that has email capability.