Kodak fails in case against Apple

Eastman Kodak Company has lost a critical part of its ITC case against Apple and RIM, in which the company which claims invention of the first ever digital camera back in 1975 has been trying to win royalty payments on a common image-preview feature used in phones.

U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Paul Luckern said Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry don’t violate Kodak’s patent. These findings are subject to a six person review board for final approval, but it isn’t looking so great for Kodak right now.

Kodak is trying to raise royalties from its pool of over 1,000 digital-imaging patents as it attempts to finance new modern digital photography product development.

In response, Apple has filed its own patent-infringement complaint at the ITC against Kodak, trial begins Jan. 31.