Kodak sues RIM, Apple over Patent Litigation

Last week, imaging leader, Eastman Kodak got a reliever post a decision by the International Trade Commission. The image veteran had in early 2001 obtained close to 1,000 digital image preview patents. This particular patent usage in question was allegedly violated by Research in Motion (RIM) and Apple Inc. by the way of using it on their platforms for image previewing.

Patent woes

In its detailed complaint that it voiced to a panel of six judges at the International Trade Commission, Kodak re-iterated that the image previews the companies offer on their smartphones was encroaching its patent boundaries. The ITC, in a judgment on Friday assured a second review of the case.

The money taps of Kodak have been increasingly running scarce since a while now. In such a situation, the revenue it obtains from this patent portfolio that it has obtained has been promising a steady rate of money flow. In the past too, well known brands like LG, Samsung Electronics faced a similar blow from Kodak. LG then paid them a sum of $414M USD as licensing royalties, whereas Samsung Electronics had to shell out $550M USD in royalties.

Now, it remains to see if it manages to keep its clutch over its patents and get the technology giants cough up huge royalty sums. The next hearing for the same is scheduled on May 23, 2011.