Kodak, the one-time leader in imaging, filed a lawsuit in 2010 against RIM and Apple that claimed both companies infringed on their digital imaging technology patent (number 6,292,218). At the time Laura Quatela, Kodak’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer, stated “Those devices use Kodak technology, and we are merely seeking compensation for the use of our technology in their products. Our primary interest is not to disrupt the availability of any product but to obtain fair compensation for the use of our technology.”
Late last night the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) reached its decision on the case. In a press release RIM revealed that the ITC “has terminated its investigation after making a determination in favor of RIM that the only asserted claim of Kodak’s U.S. Patent No. 6,292,218 for electronic cameras (Kodak’s ‘218 patent) is invalid.” This is another win for RIM and possibly saved them millions of dollars.
Barbara Parvis, RIM’s VP of Litigation stated that “RIM respects the valid intellectual property rights of other companies, but will vigorously defend itself against improper claims.”
In addition, according to Bloomberg and the court documents, it’s not only RIM, but Apple too who gets cleared of the case. The documents noted that “The Commission has determined to review the ALJ’s finding of infringement of the ’218 patent by the accused RIM products and the iPhone 3G, and his finding of invalidity based on the Mori and Parulski ’335 combination.”
Since this lawsuit started Kodak has gone into bankruptcy, which is unfortunate as they created the imaging industry, but said they’ll appeal the decision.
Source: MarketWire & USITC
Via: CrackBerry & Bloomberg
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