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Kodak Wins Initial Ruling in Patent Countersuit by Apple

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kodak logoBloomberg reports that Eastman Kodak has achieved a victory with an initial ruling from a U.S. International Trade Commission judge stating that the company has not infringed two Apple patents cited in a lawsuit filed last year. That lawsuit by Apple was initiated in response to a patent lawsuit by Kodak filed several months earlier.

Neither of the two patents in Apple's case before the ITC were being infringed, and one of the patents is invalid, Judge Robert Rogers in Washington said yesterday. The judge's findings are subject to review by the six-member ITC, which has the power to block imports of products that infringe U.S. patents.

A similar initial determination in Kodak's case against Apple and Research in Motion ruled against Kodak in January, but the broader ITC panel decided to reexamine the case, breathing new life into Kodak's efforts to extract as much as $1 billion in licensing fees from Apple and Research in Motion.

Top Rated Comments

Small White Car Avatar
Small White Car
194 months ago
Man, I love Apple and all, but it's funny that they think they can somehow beat the inventors of the digital camera in such a way that Apple comes out completely on top.

I know this legal stuff involves a lot of give and take and there's never a total winner, but surely Kodak's got the upper hand in this particular fight, yeah?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
L
lilo777
194 months ago
Or Apple can simply bury and sufficate them with the Apple cash stockpile.

Or for once they could just pay people for inventing stuff.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mattie Num Nums Avatar
Mattie Num Nums
194 months ago
Or Apple can simply bury and sufficate them with the Apple cash stockpile.

You mean the cash stockpile they have that's overseas and don't want to spend because of taxes?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
W
weespeed
194 months ago
*pssst* I think you missed the part of the article where it mentioned Kodak "getting their ass handed to them" in January. Kodak started the fight, Apple counter fired, and it's looking more and more like a zero-sum game, where Apple and RIM will not have to pay licensing fees.
No. The ruling to determine if Apple and RIM owe Kodak money is in September. They are re-examining the ruling against Kodak. I suspect because Samsung and LG already are paying Kodak royalties now.

Apple lost their counter-suit and now one of their patents have been found to be invalid. This is actually bad news for Apple regarding this patent suit.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
samcraig
194 months ago
So what. No effect to Apple. Everything that is critical, Apple already has rights to.

Great post.. only... if Apple had won - I guarantee you'd be singing another tune, right?

Predictable post from predictable posters.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
philr5150 Avatar
philr5150
194 months ago

Oh, and Apple should definitely buy Kodak and their huge patent collection and then collect royalties from all of their competitors. That would be ingenious and very Steve Jobs-like.

Really? Bill Gates did that and the world called him a sonofabitch. Jobs do it and it's a stroke of genius?

It's called patent-trolling. Enough companies already doing that. Apple should just concentrate on making functional, cool-looking devices.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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