© 2009 Bright Side Of News*, All rights reserved. Beat 'em While They're Down: Apple Sues Bankrupt Kodak for Patent Infringement

Beat 'em While They're Down: Apple Sues Bankrupt Kodak for Patent Infringement

2/15/2012 by: Anshel Sag

Apple, today, has requested permission from a New York court for the right to sue Kodak over patent infringement. The interesting thing about this suit is that Kodak has just recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy as a result of their failed digital camera and digital picture frame businesses.

Apple is planning on suing Kodak in both bankruptcy court as well as in New York state court. The claims of infringement are also apparently applicable on Kodak's current print business as well as their recently shuttered camera and digital picture frame businesses. The funny thing is that Apple doesn't actually have to notify anyone of these impending suits, but rather is doing so as a good gesture.

Kodak is not necessarily innocent in this situation either, as they recently filed suits against Apple and HTC while they began their restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings. That suit stated that Kodak was suing both companies on the grounds that they had violated certain Kodak digital imaging patents that Kodak holds. This isn't surprising, though, since Kodak is currently very strapped for cash and looking for ways to make money off of their intellectual property from decades ago when they were on the forefront of digital photography.

Our take is that Kodak is most certainly not in a position to be suing anyone for anything until they can prove that they are actually using their own technology in their own products. Simply inventing something for the sake of patenting it and selling the IP or suing for it is nothing better than patent trolling. There are far too many patent trolls out there, and we do not wish to see a company like Kodak going out and starting to sue everyone that makes a digital camera because they don't know how to make a good one. The Apple suit, we believe, is a reaction to Kodak's previous suit last month which was filed against HTC and Apple. We're growing ever tired of all of these intellectual patent disputes and really wish our governments would do something to curb them, because its quite clear that the private market is incapable of handling them. We also believe that the government is part of the problem, but granting patents on things that simply shouldn't be allowed to be patented in the first place.

Tags:

Kodak, Apple, Patents, Patent, IP, Law, Lawsuit, Legal, Cameras, Printers, Imaging