After years of negotiations between corporate attorneys, Kodak says it’s had enough. The firm is headed to the courts with a lawsuit aimed at the makers of two of the world’s most popular smartphones. Enterprise Mobile Today has the story.
Perhaps emboldened by a recent court victory, Eastman Kodak announced on Thursday it has filed suit against Apple and Research In Motion Limited (RIM), alleging the two smartphone makers are infringing on Kodak digital imaging technology.
Kodak (NYSE:EK) filed its complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) as well as in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, alleging that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and RIM (NASDAQ: RIMM) are in violation of a patent Kodak holds to digitally preview an image taken with a digital phone.
“Our primary interest is not to disrupt the availability of any product but to obtain fair compensation for the use of our technology,” said Laura Quatela, vice president and chief intellectual property officer for Eastman Kodak, in a statement. “There’s a basic issue of fairness that needs to be addressed. Those devices use Kodak technology, and we are merely seeking compensation for the use of our technology in their products.
“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. In light of that, we are taking this action to ensure that we protect the interests of our shareholders and the existing licensees of our technology,” she added.
The case follows a Dec. 17 ruling in the case of Kodak vs. Samsung, where an ITC Administrative Law Judge issued a ruling declaring that the Kodak patent covering color image preview was valid and enforceable and that Samsung’s camera-enabled smartphone infringed upon that Kodak patent. The two firms have since settled.
