The camera maker said it filed two lawsuits against Apple on Thursday for infringement of Kodak-owned patents in digital cameras and certain computer processes.
It has also registered a complaint with the International Trade Commission, alleging that Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry handsets are fitted with camera technology that infringes Kodak patents.
The technology used for previewing pictures in these phones violates Kodak’s legal hold over it, said the company.
”Persistent infringement” of Kodak’s patent
"In the case of Apple and RIM, we've had discussions for years with both companies in an attempt to resolve this issue amicably, and we have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement," said Laura Quatela, Kodak's chief intellectual property officer, in a statement.
"In light of that, we are taking this action to ensure that we protect the interests of our shareholders and the existing licenses of our technology,” she said.
Apple and RIM refused to comment.
Kodak has not revealed the damages it is seeking from Apple and RIM, but it expects to receive a fair share of the benefits from the use of its technology.
The camera-maker claims to have licensed its digital-imaging technology to some 30 companies and insists that if Apple and RIM intend to use Kodak tools, they must give a "fair compensation for the use of our technology."
"We remain open to negotiating a fair and amicable agreement with both Apple and RIM, which has always been our preference and our practice with other licensees," Quatela said.
"We seek to avoid litigation in our licensing programs whenever possible. But when the infringement is persistent, we will act to defend the interests of our shareholders and licensees, and to promote the fair compensation that is the bedrock of innovation,” she added.
Kodak’s triumph in past lawsuits
The patent for Kodak's picture previewing technology has been the reason behind many lawsuits in the past and the history is on the camera maker’s side.
In 2008, the company filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics for infringement of its patent technology in its camera enabled phones. In December 2009, Kodak won the case as an ITC judge ruled that Samsung was indeed on the wrong end.
Kodak had also been involved in a similar lawsuit against LG Electronics.
Previously, in 2002 Kodak had also filed a case against Sun Microsystems alleging that the company was using certain technologies in its Java programming environment that violated three patents owned by Kodak.
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