The International Trade Commission (ITC) put to bed at least one of the many patent infringement cases coming out of the wireless industry recently, namely a counter-suit levied by Apple against camera maker Kodak.
An administrative law judge (ALJ) upheld an initial decision that none of the claims Apple put forward alleging infringement of the company’s camera technologies were valid. Apple had claimed that Kodak infringed on patents covering image processing in cameras.
The initial ruling, handed down on May 12, found one of Apple’s patents was invalid and that Kodak did not violate the other two cited in the complaint.
The ongoing dispute is far from over. The ITC already has ruled against Kodak in the suit Kodak filed against Apple in January, claiming that camera technologies used in nearly all of Apple’s devices had infringed upon Kodak’s camera patents.
However, the judge assigned to the case said he had changed some of the definitions and language in Kodak’s suit and wanted an ALJ to make a final judgment in light of the changes.
The stakes are high for Kodak. This current round of claims has also been levied at BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. Kodak has said that a ruling in its favor on the matter could lead to $1 billion in royalties.
Filed Under: Industry regulations + certifications