Kodak gets preliminary ruling on Apple, Research In Motion patent case

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, May 21 - Eastman Kodak Co. said the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has made an initial determination in the company's U.S. International Trade Commission action against Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd., concluding that the Apple iPhone 3G and accused RIM BlackBerry devices infringe Kodak's patent, according to a Kodak news release.

However, Kodak said the ALJ's recommendation is that the patent claim is invalid.

"We are pleased the ALJ has concluded that Kodak's patent is infringed by Apple and RIM," Kodak vice president and chief intellectual property officer Timothy Lynch said in the release.

"We expect to appeal to the full commission his recommendation on validity.

"The ALJ's recommendation represents a preliminary step in a process that we are confident will conclude in Kodak's favor.

"In a previous ITC investigation, a different ALJ found this same Kodak patent to be valid and infringed by Samsung, whose products are similar to those offered by Apple and RIM.

"Kodak has invested billions of dollars to develop its pioneering digital imaging technology, and we intend to protect these valuable assets."

The final decision of the ITC, based on the deliberation of the full commission, is expected by Sept. 21.

The company said the patent at issue relates to a technology invented by Kodak for previewing images on a digital camera-enabled device. Kodak said this technology is fundamental to how those devices take pictures.

In the face of two separate challenges, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office analyzed this particular Kodak patent and confirmed its validity in December 2010, according to the release.

Kodak said the patent at issue in this case is one of 1,100 digital imaging patents in Kodak's patent portfolio.

The company said it licenses its technology to numerous leading technology companies, including LG, Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung.

Other patent issues

As previously reported, an Apple Inc. motion to file a patent infringement lawsuit against Kodak was denied in March the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Apple said the patents it alleged Kodak was infringing cover technologies that are used in the printers, digital cameras, digital video cameras and digital picture frames that Kodak imports to, markets and sells in the United States.

To prevent Kodak's alleged violation of Apple's patent rights and to minimize the related harm to Apple, Apple said it intended to file a complaint with the ITC, which it said is the quasi-judicial federal agency charged with policing unfair practices in import trade.

In addition, Kodak has asked the court to order that Apple and FlashPoint Technology, Inc. have no interest in the patents held in Kodak's digital capture portfolio, according to court documents filed last week.

Kodak claims that Apple and FlashPoint are trying to "delay and derail" the company's efforts to sell the portfolio, which is a collection of patents that all relate to digital imaging, according to court documents.

In the motion, Kodak called Apple "the single largest infringer of the digital capture portfolio" and given its patent war with other smart phone and tablet manufacturers, the company said Apple also is a potential purchaser of the Kodak patents.

Kodak said Apple has refused to pay Kodak royalties for the patents that "have been an important element of the success of Apple's hugely popular iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch products," the motion states.

The company claims Apple owes more than $1 billion in damages for patent infringement.

Kodak is a Rochester, N.Y.-based imaging technology products and services provider to the photographic and graphic communications markets. The company filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 19. Its Chapter 11 case number is 12-10202.

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