Misreported Apple patent reassignment supposedly induces GoPro stock price decline

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2015
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday reassigned to Apple a Kodak patent covering a mobile remote control camera system, reports of which supposedly catalyzed a 12-percent drop in shares of action cam maker GoPro.

Kodak
Source: USPTO


Apple's newly reassigned U.S. Patent No. 8,934,045 illustrates a portable digital camera controllable via a wrist-worn remote. Taken at face value, the document appears to hint at Apple's ambitions to enter the action cam market, but a quick look at the patent's history reveals a slightly different story.

The invention is credited to Keith Stoll Karn, Marc Krolczyk and Kazuhiro Joza, who reassigned the patent to Kodak in 2012. Subsequently published as an application in 2013, Kodak's fairly exhaustive "Digital camera system having remote control" filing details a ruggedized digital camera and accompanying wrist-worn remote control, as well as underwater capabilities, stabilization technology and mounting options for helmets and bike handlebars. Language also refers to contemporary GoPro products by name, citing the devices as background information.

A spurious report from Patently Apple claimed the property as an in-house Apple invention that "appears to now incorporate intellectual property from Kodak." A side-by-side comparison of the application as assigned to Kodak and the patent as granted to Apple shows only minor changes, with nearly all alterations limited to housekeeping variations made to bring the document's citations up to date.

Coverage from mainstream media sources, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, perpetuated the disingenuous report by incorrectly citing the patent as "filed by [Apple] in 2012." In reality, the patent was acquired by Kodak shortly before being sold to Apple.

Apple snapped up the property in a cache of Kodak patents purchased in 2012. The embattled film camera giant auctioned off its IP to two consortiums led by Apple and Google for a combined sale price of $525 million.

The misrepresentation of Apple's assigned remote control camera patent was reportedly a factor in Tuesday's precipitous GoPro stock decline, shares of which fell $6.91 or 12.17 percent at the end of trading on Tuesday.

Apple obviously purchased the Kodak patent for a reason, but the act doesn't necessarily mean the company is working on a GoPro competitor. If Apple is seriously considering a foray into the action cam market, a patented solution would almost assuredly come from within Cupertino. As it stands, the Kodak property could be used toward technology related to existing products, perhaps as a functional augmentation to the upcoming Apple Watch.

Still, today's events serve to illustrate Apple's considerable sway as a market disruptor, with even the slightest shade of rumor causing significant turbulence to leaders in other tech sectors.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    GoPro has nothing to worry about. Sounds like more stock manipulators.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    Just wrote an article on the media's perpetuated misinformation regarding the patent and what it covers. Nothing in the independent claim -- the part that is legally defensible and which Apple can point to in a lawsuit -- mentions a mount of any kind. The patent clearly is for the iWatch to be used as a remote control for a camera interface: http://investorplace.com/2015/01/no-apple-inc-aapl-didnt-patent-superior-gopro-gpro
  • Reply 3 of 11
    Mike Campbell is saying the only misreported fact is who was originally issued the patent? Apple still owns the patent.
  • Reply 4 of 11



    This has zero to do with "stock manipulators". I don't mean this in a derogatory way, but I don't think you understand capital markets and the forces that cause quick and abrupt price fluctuations very well. You may know tech, but you don't know securities trading and finance.

  • Reply 5 of 11
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    If this is the case then it's a lot of Egg on CNN's face. They made a big deal of this.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,275member
    If investors are so nervous about GoPro that one mis-reported story can cause a dump of the stock, I think that says something bigger than "media outlets got it wrong," though cases like this do show off the power and influence Apple has.

    Good job on getting to the bottom of the story, guys.
  • Reply 7 of 11
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    This ability to control a camera remotely from a wrist-worn device might be something that Apple offers to those who make cameras. A set of specifications camera-makers could implement in their cameras to support Apple Watch-only remote control capability. That would make the most sense to me. In which case this would be a positive for camera makers, including GoPro.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    adamcadamc Posts: 583member
    "Kodak's fairly exhaustive "Digital camera system having remote control" filing details a ruggedized digital camera and accompanying wrist-worn remote control, as well as underwater capabilities, stabilization technology and mounting options for helmets and bike handlebars. "

    I believe the good folks at WS is tight and Mickey is wrong.
    Wrong as in missing the similarity between the GroPro camera and what Apple will put into the iPhone with this patent.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    12% drop on news of an Apple patent that wasn't even real? Doesn't sound like manipulation to me... sounds like a bubble popping.

    Bigger.. bigger.. bigger... then for no reason at all.. POP!
  • Reply 10 of 11
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    GoPro has nothing to worry about. Sounds like more stock manipulators.

    yep agree, it was all about trying to drive down GoPro high flying stock. May i should jump in now and see if i can make a quick 12%.

  • Reply 11 of 11
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by TomMikele View Post

     



    This has zero to do with "stock manipulators". I don't mean this in a derogatory way, but I don't think you understand capital markets and the forces that cause quick and abrupt price fluctuations very well. You may know tech, but you don't know securities trading and finance.


     

    Oh, man, seriously? What's to understand? The market reacts on any news in chaotic unpredictable way. That's why I got out of trading daily/hourly/by the second..  a while back even though I was pretty good at "throwing the dice".. The stress wasn't worth it even If I came well on top.

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