Another day, another lawsuit. Eastman Kodak Company (http://www.kodak.com) has filed lawsuits against Apple and HTC Corp., 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 complaint against Apple and HTC, Kodak is seeking from the ITC an exclusion order preventing the importation of infringing devices, including mobile telephones and wireless communication devices featuring digital cameras. In the suits against Apple and HTC in U.S. District Court, Kodak alleges infringement of the same patents and is seeking to permanently enjoin Apple and HTC from further infringement, as well as the recovery of damages.
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.
It’s a case of “he said, she said.” Apple sued Kodak in April 2010, about three months after Kodak accused Apple and Research In Motion of infringing a patent related to ways of previewing images. Apple’s countersuit said Kodak devices copy the technology that it uses in Macs, iPhone, iTunes and Photo Booth involving image processing, energy management and memory design.