The American company Eastman Kodak Company is one of the world's oldest and most famous manufacturers of photographic equipment and photographic products. Now the company is going through hard times - it faces bankruptcy proceedings.
Kodak's debt to creditors is $ 6, 6 billion. The company's management hopes to cover them from the proceeds from the sale of some patents. Approximately 1,100 patents are up for sale - 1/10 of the patent portfolio. The company estimated this intellectual property at $ 2.6 billion.
Two investment groups are claiming Kodak's patents. One of them includes the electronics manufacturer Apple, and the other includes the Internet company Google. As a starting price, the bankrupt was offered $ 250 million, which is unlikely to suit Kodak.
In January 2012, Eastman Kodak filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of infringing patents for transferring digital images without connecting to a computer. A Kodak spokesman said some of Apple's tablet computers and smartphones, as well as iPhones and iPhones were infringing 4 Kodak patents. The lawyers of the concern backed up the claim in court with an appeal to the American International Trade Commission.
A Kodak spokesman said that the concern is not going to hinder the production and distribution of any products, but expects fair compensation for the illegal use of its technologies. Many analysts interpreted the lawsuit and complaint as a PR move aimed at drawing attention to Kodak's technologies ahead of the upcoming bankruptcy and sale of patents.
In turn, in the summer of 2012, Apple filed a lawsuit against the concern, accusing it of misuse of its patents. On July 24, the court dismissed this claim. The judge said the transfer of rights to Apple's patents would violate the rights of Kodak shareholders, who are entitled to recover damages from the depreciated shares. The same decision was made by the International Trade Commission, where Apple also complained.
