Eastman Kodak Co, seeking to sell or license a portfolio of more than 1,100 patents, sued Apple Inc and HTC Corp in an expansion of a legal strategy that may help boost the value of its inventions to fund a turnaround.
Two infringement lawsuits filed on Tuesday in federal court in Rochester, New York, accuse the smartphone makers of using Kodak technology for image transmission, including a way for users to share images directly from cameras, without permission.
Kodak also claims HTC is infringing an additional patent for a preview feature, which is at the center of a US International Trade Commission case against Apple and Research In Motion (RIM).
"They're trying to generate value for their patent portfolio," said Ron Epstein, chief executive of patent brokerage Epicenter IP Group in Redwood City, California.
Kodak, which is predicted by analysts to report its fourth straight annual net loss, has put the Rochester-based company's digital-imaging patents up for sale to help fund changes to its business.
CEO Antonio Perez, who is now betting on digital printers for publishers, packagers, advertisers and households to lift Kodak, has said that the Apple-RIM trade commission case could generate $1 billion in new revenue from settlements.
Kodak, which didn't say how much the new Apple and HTC cases could be worth, also filed companion complaints at the trade commission on Tuesday in Washington, seeking to block imports of products including Apple's iPad and iPhone, and HTC's Flyer tablet and Wildfire Sphone.
"This is an important part of ongoing operations to get them through the transition," said Erin-Michael Gill, chief intellectual property officer for MDB Capital Group, a California-based investment bank. "A bad sign would be them sitting on their hands and waiting for these to sell." Kodak said last year it hired Lazard Ltd to help it sell the patents and retained Jones Dayamong advisers helping on strategic options.
The Apple-RIM trade commission case filed in 2010, involving the single image-preview patent, has met with delays including the retirement of the judge handling the case, and a final decision isn't scheduled until September.
Moody's Investors Service on Jan 5 cut ratings on about $1 billion of Kodak debt with a negative outlook, citing "a heightened probability of a bankruptcy over the near-term" as liquidity deteriorates, making a patent sale more challenging.
Adding four new patents into the mix "helps, even without litigating any of the issues, to counteract the impression that there's only one good patent" in the portfolio, said Ron Laurie, managing director of Inflexion Point Strategy in Palo Alto, California, which counsels companies on intellectual property purchases. Kodak "wanted to defuse that impression".
The four patents asserted against Apple and HTC have as co-inventor Kodak researcher Kenneth Parulski, who has more than 190 patents and is "recognized as a pioneer in numerous digital camera technologies," according to the complaints.
Kodak claims infringement by Apple's iPad 2, iPhone and iPod Touch, and by HTC's tablets and phones, including the Flyer, EVO View 4G, Jetstream, Vivid, Amaze 4g, Desire, Hero S, Rezound, Rhyme, Sensation 4G and Wildfire S.
"We've had numerous discussions with both companies in an attempt to resolve this issue, and we have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement," Laura Quatela, Kodak's chief operating officer, said in a statement.
"Our primary interest is not to disrupt the availability of any product but to obtain fair compensation for the unauthorized use of our technology."
国际英语资讯:Ten killed in subway explosion in Russias St. Petersburg
体坛英语资讯:Monchengladbach extend contract with sporting director Eberl
一辈子单身很难吗?
江苏一公交公司员工发工资拎回一袋硬币
6个小技巧翻倍学习效果
老式风格再次流行 Old Fashion Become Popular Again
体坛英语资讯:Uruguayan striker Abreu to join 24th club of career
体坛英语资讯:Routine win in Malaga sees Atletico climb to third in Spain
2017届高考英语一轮复习指导课件:选修6 unit 2(新人教版)
Promote,press ahead 和 strive for 三个表达的运用
国内英语资讯:Chinese Vice Premier calls for thorough implementation of poverty relief drive
外媒:衡量成功女性的34个标准 你达到几条?
体坛英语资讯:Shandong Luneng top CSL standings with three straight wins
国际英语资讯:Spotlight: S. Korean civic groups moving to oppose THAAD deployment
国内英语资讯:Full Text of Chinese presidents signed article in Finnish newspaper
国内英语资讯:Chinese president extends condolences to Colombian counterpart over landslides
苹果不再是最畅销手机 Iphone Is No Longer the Best Seller
'New' wave-like cloud finally wins official recognition “新”型波浪状云首次被列入官方图集
国际英语资讯:Mudslide kills at least 154 in Colombia, about 200 still missing
国际英语资讯:14 police conscripts injured in training center blast in Egypt
国内英语资讯:Interview: Expert says win-win cooperation between U.S., China the only right choice
国际英语资讯:Gazan intellectuals launch campaign to solve humanitarian crisis
国内英语资讯:China urges U.S. to conduct trade review based on international rules
尝试新事物 Trying New Thing
你认为最好的职业是什么?
宝宝高跟鞋:跟上时尚的第一步?
体坛英语资讯:Bayern march on, Leipzig win in German Bundesliga
美文赏析:可以请你嫁给我丈夫吗?
世界最不友好的5个国家:旅游多长个心吧!
国内英语资讯:China tightens pesticide checks for food safety, environment