Patent Infringement | "Apple barred from pursuing patent claims against Kodak"

By: Steven Musil
Source :  http://www.cnet.com.au
Category: Patent Infringement 

A judge in the US has told Apple that it cannot restart patent-infringement litigation against Eastman Kodak over a patent that may be sold during the troubled photography company's bankruptcy proceedings.

Patent Infringement 

US Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper, who is overseeing Kodak's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, has denied Apple's request to file a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) and attempt to unfreeze a patent lawsuit pending between the companies. Gropper said that it would be inappropriate to allow Apple to continue pursuing claims against Kodak while the company is reorganising.

The patent, which covers technology that allows consumers to preview digital photographs on LCD screens, is part of a portfolio of digital-imaging patents that Kodak is hoping to sell for as much as US$2.6 billion. The ruling is a setback for Apple, which fears that the patent might be sold before its rightful ownership is determined by the courts.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the ruling.

Last May, the ITC ruled that the patent-infringement claims that Apple had brought against Kodak, related to the way in which images are displayed on digital cameras, had not been violated. Kodak responded by filing a lawsuit against the iPhone maker for allegedly violating patents related to transferring and emailing images and sending photos over a mobile or Wi-Fi network.

Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection in January, securing US$950 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Citigroup that that will allow the company to continue operations as it restructures. It was also issued an automatic stay that protects it from existing and new litigation. Part of the deal, however, is that Kodak must sell a portfolio of 1100 digital-imaging patents.

Worried that the patent would be sold off, the iPhone maker last month asked the US Bankruptcy Court for permission to restart litigation against Kodak by filing lawsuits with the ITC and the US District Court of Manhattan, alleging that Kodak violated its patents related to printers, digital picture frames and digital cameras. Kodak responded by asking the court to block Apple's lawsuits from proceeding.

Source: http://www.cnet.com.au/apple-barred-from-pursuing-patent-claims-against-kodak-339333515.htm