Kodak Files Lawsuits Against Apple and HTC for Patent Infringement

Kodak announced that it has filed lawsuits against Apple and HTC alleging the infringement of certain Kodak patents relating to digital imaging technology.

A complaint filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) specifically claims that certain of Apple's iPhones, iPads, and iPods, and certain of HTC's smartphones and tablets infringe Kodak patents that relate to technology for transmitting images. Kodak also alleges that certain of HTC's smartphones infringe a patent that covers technology related to a method for previewing images which is already the subject of pending actions against Apple. Separately, Kodak filed suits today against Apple and HTC in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York alleging the same infringement.

In the ITC complaint, Kodak seeks a U.S important ban on Apple and HTC mobile phones and wireless communication devices that feature cameras.


"We remain open to negotiating a fair and amicable agreement with these companies, which has always been our preference and our practice with other licensees," Timothy M. Lynch, Chief Intellectual Property Officer, said. "We seek to avoid litigation in our licensing programs whenever possible. But when the infringement is persistent, we will act to defend the interests of our shareholders and licensees, and to promote the fair compensation that is the bedrock of innovation."

The complaints against Apple and HTC assert infringement of the following patents:
● U.S. Patent No. 7,210,161 – "Automatically Transmitting Images from an Electronic Camera to a Service Provider Using a Network Configuration File"
● U.S. Patent No. 7,742,084 – "Network Configuration File for Automatically Transmitting Images from an Electronic Still Camera"
● U.S. Patent No. 7,453,605 – "Capturing Digital Images to be Transferred to an E-Mail Address"
● U.S. Patent No. 7,936,391 – "Digital Camera with Communications Interface for Selectively Transmitting Images over a Cellular Phone Network and a Wireless LAN Network to a Destination"

The complaints against HTC also assert infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,292,218 ("Electronic Camera for Initiating Capture of Still Images While Previewing Motion Images"), which is the same patent at issue in the pending ITC action initiated by Kodak in January 2010 against Apple and Research In Motion Limited.