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Apple and Google Lead Separate Groups in Bidding for Kodak Patents

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Apr 12, 2001
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Google and Apple are once again going head to head in bidding for a major collection of patents owned by a bankrupt corporation. According to The Wall Street Journal, two consortiums have formed to bid for the patents owned by camera giant Kodak, which is currently in bankruptcy.

Apple, Microsoft, and patent-aggregation firm Intellectual Ventures are teaming up, while Google, Samsung, LG, HTC and RPX Corp are forming the second alliance.
The people familiar with the discussions cautioned that work on bids could continue over the weekend, with alliances changing and other bidders potentially emerging.

[...]

A bankruptcy court supervised auction of Kodak's patents is set for Aug. 8. The patents are being sold in two lots: the digital-capture portfolio related to capturing and processing images on cameras, smartphones and tablets; and the Kodak Imaging Systems and Services patents related to storing and analyzing images, among other things.
Click to expand...
The two teams are unsurprising. A consortium consisting of Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM, and Sony purchased 6,000 patents from Nortel last year, beating out a group that included Intel and Google. For the Kodak patents, we see Google paired up with Samsung, LG and HTC -- three major Android handset makers -- along with RPX Corp., another patent aggregation firm.

Apple and Kodak have filed a number of lawsuits and countersuits against each other in the ongoing tech patent wars.

Article Link: Apple and Google Lead Separate Groups in Bidding for Kodak Patents
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/27/apple-and-google-lead-separate-groups-in-bidding-for-kodak-patents/
I

IzzyJG99

macrumors 6502
Oct 26, 2007
336
6
Interesting. I cannot imagine Kodak having many patents that are relevant in this digital age. Maybe photo printing methods and stuff like that? Weird, but interesting.
 
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
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MD
Apple and Microsoft have the deepest pockets, so if they want them that bad, they'll get them. Apple also doesn't perceive WP7/8 as a major threat to its business either, so their teaming up makes sense.

IzzyJG99 said:
Interesting. I cannot imagine Kodak having many patents that are relevant in this digital age. Maybe photo printing methods and stuff like that? Weird, but interesting.
Click to expand...

Reading is your friend.

Apple and Kodak have filed a number of lawsuits and countersuits against each other in the ongoing tech patent wars.
Click to expand...
 
HiRez

HiRez

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
6,250
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Western US
All Apple has to do is bid one dollar over Avogadro's Number. Done.

This is great news for Kodak, they will probably end up getting an obscene amount of money for the patents with the bidding war and at least pay off their creditors.
 
SPUY767

SPUY767

macrumors 68020
Jun 22, 2003
2,041
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GA
Seems like Goog trying to buddy up with its Android OEMs could have antitrust implications. Google needs a cudgel to use against Apple, they will pay dearly for these. We all know, however, that no one's pockets are deeper than Apple's.
 
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
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SPUY767 said:
Seems like Goog trying to buddy up with its Android OEMs could have antitrust implications. Google needs a cudgel to use against Apple, they will pay dearly for these. We all know, however, that no one's pockets are deeper than Apple's.
Click to expand...

Apple also won't pay an unreasonable price for the patents. They did, after all, pass on Palm when you know all they would have done is absorb their patents, keep their best engineers and kill their entire product lines.
 
Rocketman

Rocketman

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Dec 2, 2001
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Claremont, The intellectual capitol of the world.
Linked article blocked by paywall. Is there a link to any other media outlet at all with a discussion of the issues which are public?

One wonders if they might actually be best to buy the entirety of Kodak and keep some of its divisions operating?

I suspect the patent bidding will several times exceed the entire market value of Kodak. $74.76 million!

http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-price/?symbol=EKDKQ

Apple used to have good relations with Kodak and could reinvigorate some of its aspects and we all remember the Kodak photo spots all around Disneyland (s). I suspect they are Fuji now or some such.

Rocketman
 
Peace

Peace

Cancelled
Apr 1, 2005
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Rocketman said:
Linked article blocked by paywall. Is there a link to any other media outlet at all with a discussion of the issues which are public?

One wonders if they might actually be best to buy the entirety of Kodak and keep some of its divisions operating?

I suspect the patent bidding will several times exceed the entire market value of Kodak. $74.76 million!

http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-price/?symbol=EKDKQ

Apple used to have good relations with Kodak and could reinvigorate some of its aspects and we all remember the Kodak photo spots all around Disneyland (s). I suspect they are Fuji now or some such.

Rocketman
Click to expand...


They not only had a good relationship but Apple also helped Kodak create these patents. that's what the Apple v. Kodak lawsuit is all about.

I suspect if Apple wins it's lawsuit and google wins the bid google is gonna owe Apple a lot of money.
 
C

codefuns

macrumors member
Jun 10, 2011
90
0
Why patent can be transferred? I think a patent should only protected its inventor, if the inventor (a person or company) broken or died, or doesn't use its patent to make profit or benefit human in a limit period, this patent should expired.
A lot of patents is very simple, funny simple, it is unfair for young people, and it will greatly prevent innovation.
 
A

Adey

macrumors regular
Feb 5, 2008
100
0
Here's an idea: why don't all eight of the firms team up, thereby getting use of the patents for 1/8th the price, blocking out patent trolls (who probably couldn't afford them anyway, to be fair) and save themselves millions down the line by not having to constantly sue each other.

None of the eight have developed the technologies on offer, so I think they're probably more concerned with ongoing use of the patents than protecting them and having exclusive use.
 
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
wickerman1893 said:
Apple vs. Google vs. Microsoft

Let the battle begin.
Click to expand...

You didn't quite read the article. Apple and Microsoft together vs. Google, Samsung and others.


chrmjenkins said:
Apple also won't pay an unreasonable price for the patents. They did, after all, pass on Palm when you know all they would have done is absorb their patents, keep their best engineers and kill their entire product lines.
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, Palm's entire product lines were killed without any Apple involvement, and their best engineers are probably available to hire right now. That said, buying a company to kill it off must be about the most stupid use of money imaginable.
 
M

mingoglia

macrumors 6502
Dec 10, 2009
486
69
Every time I see these threads about patent wars I think to myself how life could be different if patent wars existed years ago. For example, right now every can of cola/energy drinks is basically the same. The mechanism to open the can is identical. What if years ago there was a patent on a "aluminum can opening device"? We may have a half dozen different ways to open a can?

What about patenting a door as a "means to get out of a room that has 4 walls and no opening"?

How about patenting an automobile as having exactly 4 wheels? Or patenting a round steering wheel? How about the order in which the pedals are on the floor (clutch, brake, gas)? Could we be driving around in cars where the brake and gas are on different sides because having them in the same order would have infringed on a patent?

Yes, crazy stuff like this goes through my head, but at the end of the day I still believe the consumer is the one that potentially loses.
 
L

lzyprson

macrumors regular
Mar 2, 2012
156
13
Adey said:
Here's an idea: why don't all eight of the firms team up, thereby getting use of the patents for 1/8th the price, blocking out patent trolls (who probably couldn't afford them anyway, to be fair) and save themselves millions down the line by not having to constantly sue each other.

None of the eight have developed the technologies on offer, so I think they're probably more concerned with ongoing use of the patents than protecting them and having exclusive use.
Click to expand...

Because this defeats the purpose of Apple wanting to turn Google back into a search & email provider.
 
chrmjenkins

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
gnasher729 said:
If I remember correctly, Palm's entire product lines were killed without any Apple involvement, and their best engineers are probably available to hire right now. That said, buying a company to kill it off must be about the most stupid use of money imaginable.
Click to expand...

Actually, Apple has already hired at least one of them. They nabbed a top UI engineer from them.

They wouldn't have bought it to kill it solely. That would have just been a necessary consequence of buying it for the patents to hold over their competitors' heads.

mingoglia said:
Every time I see these threads about patent wars I think to myself how life could be different if patent wars existed years ago. For example, right now every can of cola/energy drinks is basically the same. The mechanism to open the can is identical. What if years ago there was a patent on a "aluminum can opening device"? We may have a half dozen different ways to open a can?

What about patenting a door as a "means to get out of a room that has 4 walls and no opening"?

How about patenting an automobile as having exactly 4 wheels? Or patenting a round steering wheel? How about the order in which the pedals are on the floor (clutch, brake, gas)? Could we be driving around in cars where the brake and gas are on different sides because having them in the same order would have infringed on a patent?

Yes, crazy stuff like this goes through my head, but at the end of the day I still believe the consumer is the one that potentially loses.
Click to expand...

You do realize that many basic inventions like these were patented and have since lapsed? Like the spray shaving cream can- that was patented. There are dozens of such examples.

The problem with software patents is that a lot of rudimentary ideas, many of which were already in use, are being patented. This would be like if you introduced patents back in cave man days. Physical implementations of ideas are thousands of years old, but software, an abstract implementation, is only around 60 years old.
 
W

Windlasher

macrumors 6502
Jan 11, 2011
483
111
minneapolis
Rocketman said:
Linked article blocked by paywall. Is there a link to any other media outlet at all with a discussion of the issues which are public?

One wonders if they might actually be best to buy the entirety of Kodak and keep some of its divisions operating?

I suspect the patent bidding will several times exceed the entire market value of Kodak. $74.76 million!

http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-price/?symbol=EKDKQ

Apple used to have good relations with Kodak and could reinvigorate some of its aspects and we all remember the Kodak photo spots all around Disneyland (s). I suspect they are Fuji now or some such.

Rocketman
Click to expand...

Would love for apple to keep the printing industry running "rebranded" kodaks entry level printers are actually quite nice and the ink is cheap.
 
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