Kodak seeks court approval to auction two groups of patent portfolios

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, June 12 - Eastman Kodak Co. is seeking court approval of bidding procedures for the auction of its Digital Capture and Kodak Imaging Systems and Services (KISS) patent portfolio, according to a news release.

The company said the portfolios comprise more than 1,100 patents that are integral to the capture, manipulation and sharing of digital images.

Kodak said the unsuccessful bidders will not be disclosed to other bidders or the public. Only the winning bidder and the amount of the successful bid will be announced publicly at the end of the auction.

"The proposed structure of the auction is tailored to the special nature of the assets," Kodak vice president and chief intellectual property officer Timothy M. Lynch said in the release.

"The bidding procedures are designed to allow bidders to give us their best offers without fear of showing their cards to competitors.

"In filing these proposed procedures in advance of the June 30 deadline in our lending agreement, we are moving ahead as quickly as possible with the process of monetizing our digital imaging patent portfolio."

Kodak said financial adviser Lazard, has conducted an extensive marketing process for these assets over the last 12 months. To date, 20 parties have signed confidentiality agreements and have been provided access to an electronic data room.

Lynch said the Digital Capture portfolio includes more than 700 patents, covering key aspects of image capture, processing and transmission technologies that are crucial to the design and operation of digital cameras and multi-function devices.

Meanwhile, the KISS portfolio includes more than 400 patents that cover technologies including image analysis, manipulation and tagging and network-based services.

The company said it expects the motion to approve bidding procedures to be heard by the court on July 2, the auction to be held in early August, and the winning bidder to be announced by Aug. 13.

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 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Its Chapter 11 case number is 12-10202.

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