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ITC judge presiding over Kodak-Apple patent case retires
ITC Chief Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern has stepped down from his position after 27 years of service. This departure is notable as Luckern presided over the patent complaint filed by Kodak against Apple. In January, Luckern issued an initial ruling that Apple did not infringe on Kodak's patent for image preview. This early win for Apple was surprising as Kodak had collected over US$900 million from LG and Samsung in licensing fees for this same image preview patent. The final decision on this complaint has been delayed twice and is now scheduled for the end of August. With the departure of the presiding judge, the outcome of this case is uncertain and could swing in favor of Kodak. Such a reversal would be a huge win for the imaging company as licensing fees from this complaint could climb as high as $1 billion.
Kodak may sell image patent in Apple lawsuit
Kodak may sell the image previewing patent that is the subject of a US$1 billion infringement lawsuit filed against Apple and RIM. This patent is one of 1,100 patents that Kodak is looking to sell as it tries to raise cash. Analysts estimate these patents may be worth more than $650 million, the market value of the company. In the past, Kodak has used patents to fund its struggling imaging and printing business. It has licensing agreements with 32 companies including Samsung and LG which have collectively paid Kodak $950 million to use the technology in Kodak's image-preview patents. Kodak was hoping to cash in on the RIM and Apple lawsuit, but this potential influx of cash has stalled. Kodak was handed a setback earlier this year when the ITC delayed its ruling on the Apple/RIM lawsuit until August 31.
