The International Trade Commission has ruled against Eastman Kodak Co. in a long-standing patent dispute with Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd.
The ITC on Friday affirmed an earlier decision by a judge that neither Apple nor RIM violated Kodak’s patent. At issue was a 2002 patent covering image-preview technology. Kodak has said it hopes to garner $1 billion from the claim.
Representatives for Kodak could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday afternoon. A company spokesman did tell Bloomberg News on Friday that Kodak plans to appeal the decision and is confident that the patent will ultimately be found valid.
Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. It has kept operating while it tries to sell its trove of digital imaging patents. It recently won court approval to auction off roughly 1,100 patents, or about 10 percent of its total portfolio. It said in early July that it expects to hold the auction in early August.
