Kodak sues Samsung alleging patent infringement

ONE TIME PHOTOGRAPHY GIANT Kodak has alleged that Samsung infringed five patents relating to the manipulation of electronic images.

Kodak filed its complaint in the US District Court for the Western District of New York alleging that certain Samsung tablets infringe five patents. The infringement claims, all of which relate to the capture and transmission of digital images, add to Samsung's ever growing list of patents litigation.

As Kodak made its allegations against Samsung the firm also filed for US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, highlighting the firm's dire financial condition.

Kodak claimed to have licensed its digital imaging patents to more than 30 firms including LG, Motorola and Nokia.

Kodak's patents, which as usual seem shockingly broad, include one for "Capturing Digital Images to be Transferred to an E-Mail Address" and "Electronic Camera For Initiating Capture of Still Images While Previewing Motion Images".

In announcing Kodak's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Antonio Perez, chairman and CEO of Kodak said, "Chapter 11 gives us the best opportunities to maximize the value in two critical parts of our technology portfolio: our digital capture patents, which are essential for a wide range of mobile and other consumer electronic devices that capture digital images and have generated over $3bn of licensing revenues since 2003."

Even though Kodak might be on its last legs, forcing Samsung to license its patents will be critical for the firm to capture residual value for its creditors. µ