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ITC dismisses Kodak patent suit against Apple, RIM

In January of last year, Kodak sued smartphone giants Apple and RIM over patent violations relating to the cameras used in BlackBerrys and the iPhone.

The suit alleged that the smartphones infringed on Kodak patents "covering technology for previewing photos."



Today, the ITC (International Trade Commission) has thrown out the case, claiming that the patent was simply a small variant of an earlier patent and therefore could not be used.

Current generation smartphones like the iPhone cannot violate the patent in question, as a result, explains Electronista.

The ruling is not absolute, and will face an ITC panel in the coming months. Kodak filed a similar suit against LG and Samsung, and the judge in that case upheld the same exact patent.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Jan 2011 1:29

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• 2 comments

• DVDBack23

  MINI RANT TIME:
  
  Kodak makes me sick..a once strong company that failed to adapt and lost the entire photography market to smarter and faster companies.
  
  They have now turned to litigation as their main form of business and will piggyback off the hard work of other people who actually understand what it is to innovate.
  
  I hope they lose all their current and future patent cases.
  

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  25.1.2011 01:41 #1

• joepet200

  I agree that Kodak has missed the technology boat but they played by the rules and filed a patent. The Patent office reviewed their request and awarded them a patent. There lies the problem. Why did they issue a patent, if according to today's courts, it wasn't valid?
  
  It's important to compete on a level playing field. The patent rules don't apply to everyone especially large US corporations.
  
  I believe all existing patents need to be reviewed and patent protection be no more than 10 years. Innovators can then use your patent as long as they can prove an improved product as the final result. Then watch innovation and technology explode. Less $$$ for the patent lawyers, more $$$ for product development.
  
  

  25.1.2011 11:02 #2