ITC rules in favor of Kodak in Apple patent suit

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled on Monday that Kodak did not infringe on Apple's patents, upholding an ITC judge's decision from May.



Apple lodged its complaint with the ITC in April last year as a countersuit to a suit filed by Kodak. The Cupertino, Calif., iPhone maker had alleged that Kodak violated digital imaging software patents with its digital cameras.



In May, a judge for the federal agency sided with Kodak, finding one of Apple's patents invalid and ruling that the struggling photographic company had not infringed on either patent. As reported by Reuters, Monday's decision upholds the ruling, although the companies have ongoing legal disputes in district courts.



"We are pleased that the commission has confirmed the [administrative law judge's] finding that there is no violation by Kodak," said Kodak spokesman David Lanzillo.



After falling 8.03 percent to $2.52 on Monday, shares of Kodak regained some lost ground in after-hours trading. The company's stock has been in free fall, losing more than 50 percent of its value since the beginning of the year.



Investors are likely to more heavily anticipate Kodak's suit against Apple, as the company has said a settlement could bring in as much as $1 billion in royalty revenue.



Kodak first filed its complaint against Apple last January, saying that years of discussions with the company over patent licensing had broken down. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion was also included on the suit.



Earlier this year, Kodak's case against the two companies was found to be invalid by an ITC judge because the patent in question was an "obvious variation of an earlier invention." After reviewing the case, the full commission issued a mixed ruling, upholding some of the judge's decision, while also finding Apple and RIM guilty of infringing on several smaller patents and sending parts of the ruling back to an administrative law judge.



Kodak has previously enforced the patent against Samsung and LG, receiving $950 million in royalties from the two companies. As profits from the camera film market have dried up, the company has resorted to licensing fees from its well-stocked patent portfolio for revenue. According to the report, the company expects to see $250 million to $350 million in licensing revenue each year through 2013.



For its part, Apple is actively seeking lawyers for its litigation team to handle a growing number of patent infringement suits.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    dickprinterdickprinter Posts: 1,060member
    $262 per share?? What are they complaining about? That's a $67.78B market cap. Farrrrr from the need of going bankrupt.



    Ooops, sorry. There's a decimal point missing in the article.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dickprinter View Post


    $262 per share?? What are they complaining about? That's a $67.78B market cap. Farrrrr from the need of going bankrupt.



    Ooops, sorry. There's a decimal point missing in the article.



    It would seem cheaper for Apple to just buy Kodak.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,712member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    It would seem cheaper for Apple to just buy Kodak.



    Then we could have 'Apple Moments'
  • Reply 4 of 15
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Current Market Cap for Eastmon Kodak: $ 677.98 Million.



    http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:EK



    Even with their debt, the licensing royalties alone could pay it down.



    EK's stock price 10 years ago was around $46. It's now at $2.52. After hours has it up to $2.65.



    After EK files to auction off their Patents Apple could buy them as part of a group.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    dickprinterdickprinter Posts: 1,060member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    It would seem cheaper for Apple to just buy Kodak.



    Give it time....
  • Reply 6 of 15
    Apple the Monsanto of the tech world.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    cloudgazercloudgazer Posts: 2,161member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by remotejohnny View Post


    Kodak will never sell themselves to Apple. That would be like an Orange buying a Banana. No point.



    That makes no sense, Kodak is clearly a Lemon.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by remotejohnny View Post


    Kodak will never sell themselves to Apple. That would be like an Orange buying a Banana. No point.



    they could do a hostel take over and purchase the company out from under itself
  • Reply 9 of 15
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by remotejohnny View Post


    Kodak will never sell themselves to Apple. That would be like an Orange buying a Banana. No point.



    Eastman Kodak will soon face Chapter 11 or start courting companies for a buyout, or the dreaded Auction block.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    If Kodak's patent portfolio is good enough I could see Apple buying them.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    jdsonicejdsonice Posts: 156member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cloudgazer View Post


    It would seem cheaper for Apple to just buy Kodak.



    Exactly. Why the heck are they not doing it? I am sure there is some valuable patent technology that Kodak owns that would make it worthwhile.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ruoppster View Post


    they could do a hostel take over and purchase the company out from under itself



    You can be sure Apple has looked into it, but hostile takeovers are usually messy, distracting and expensive.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ruoppster View Post


    they could do a hostel take over and purchase the company out from under itself



    Why, are they all backpacking?
  • Reply 14 of 15
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by phoebetech View Post


    Apple the Monsanto of the tech world.



    Please stop saying this. You look like an absolute fool.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jd_in_sb View Post


    If Kodak's patent portfolio is good enough I could see Apple buying them.



    As that's the only reason Apple would buy them, it won't ever happen.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    Kodak also owns one of the world's most venerable brand names. Lest we forget, a brand name is just about all Apple had in its portfolio at one time. If any company could find a way to make something of the Kodak brand, it's Apple. But I think it could only occur with a friendly takeover, which I doubt would happen since upper management at Kodak would little doubt condition this on featherbedding for themselves.
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