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Apple Seeks Bankruptcy Court's Blessing to Sue Kodak over Patents
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It all started years ago when they promoted their new President from Engineering instead of Marketing. Most always a devistating move that a company can't recover from. When your primary focus is on what neat stuff you can create instead of what your potential customers need and desire, you lose every time.
Maybe Apple feels that Kodak is trying to claim credit for digital photography breakthroughs that Apple engineers made. The "pride" angle works both ways.
Being a collaboration, I am sure it was a jumble of both companies working together. Apple countersuing could be a precursor to them just doing some sort of no-fault buyout of any Kodak IP that they may want, and lump in the patents in question.
Unfortunately lawsuits is just how some people negotiate these days. This is nothing compared to the entertainment industry. Seriously. I work in that world, and it's crazy.
6 words...
Anyway, I will miss Kodak, I still have a great camera from them and it takes good picutres.
That's however how Apple became successful!
I think ProView should buy Kodak and then Motorola/Google should buy Proview and then Samsung should buy Google and then they can all stop Apple from doing business and we are done!
Pretty terrible idea. What about everyone who still uses Kodak products (myself included)?
Correct. They stopped making film cameras and then started designing digital cameras. They were very late in puting them on the market because they kept updating it to meet the competition before release. (Engineers perspective) When they finally got something on the market, the rest of the players had too strong a foothold to compete. Had they put something on the market early and then evolved the product (Marketing perspective, e.g., S.J.), they would likely be a big player today.
Quite the contrary. Apple focuses on what potential consumers need, and then create neat stuff to fill those needs, along with marketing to create the want.
Engineers tend to create neat stuff for themselves (not the customer) because if makes their creative juices flow. I know this as a fact because I R 1.
Apparently not, they've been arguing on and off for years. Lawsuits are how companies "make arrangements".
Interesting. This quote is from a song about the press reporting on people's problems.
It would just make more sense, and be easier if Apple bought out Kodak, and used the patent portfolio against other phone and camera manufacturers.
TEG
TEG
Welcome to that little thing called the Free Market Economy.
Capitalism's a bitch aint it....
Kodak owns many patents inherent to any* digital camera. And they didn't buy them, either.
Presumably, though, they already have licensing deals in place with other camera makers, so Apple would likely have little current or short-term change in profit based on a purchase of those patents.
* I think it is "any".
A few billion dollars.
Apple should sue. Doesn't matter if they are bankrupt. You have to protect yourself. Apple is a business. There is nothing wrong with suing a bankrupt company.
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So let me get this straight. You're saying that apple should buy the company that is suing them over a patent that isn't rightfully there's and is in fact apples patent. How does that make any sense?
Lets jsut give them a few billion dollars for no reason. Yeah like thats being fiscally responsible to the shareholders. Seriously?
It creates my portfolio books that I have printed from Aperture and iPhoto.
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Ok -- I see people who are down on Apple (surprise, surprise) but you've got to look at the lawsuits Kodak has against Apple...
Two infringement lawsuits filed yesterday in federal court in Rochester, New York, accuse the smartphone makers of using without permission Kodak technology for image transmission, including a way for users to share images directly from cameras. Kodak also claims HTC is infringing an additional patent for a preview feature
C'MON!!!!!!!!!
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When you become either the TOP company in the world over even Exxon/Mobile from time to time, people are going to sue you and try to take some of that money from you. Conversely, with Apple innovating constantly and other people try to steal their IP, they have to sue other people in order to protect it.
CUE the DOWN-RATING.
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Apple believe that they have a right to the patents. Kodak is circling the drain and Apple do not want a competitor to pickup Kodak on the cheap and their patents along with it.
If Apple lay claim to the patents this prevents anyone else from buying them as they will be protected whilst ownership is contested.
If Apple lay claim to the patents this prevents anyone else from buying them as they will be protected whilst ownership is contested.
KodaK sued apple just before filing bankruptcy trying to stay afloat. Why shouldn't they fight back?
There are some incredibly naive views being expressed here. Kodak has indicated an intent to bring extraordinarily wide-ranging patent litigation, presumably as a last-ditch means of generating the cash needed to emerge from bankruptcy. To that end, it already has filed patents suits against Apple, among many others. To the extent Apple has counterclaims, it it legally obligated to assert them, or it risks waiving them forever. In addition, Apple may have other patent claims against Kodak that it believes are meritorious. If it believes Kodak's claims are not, then it makes strategic sense to bring those additional claims as a response to Kodak's. In short, doing anything other than this would amount to rolling over in the face of a threat.
As someone who owned and cherished Kodak cameras back in the day, I am as saddened as anyone to see what's happening to that company. But there are real indications that their final chapter will be as a patent troll. They certainly have that right, but Apple would be positively crazy to take it without a fight.
Two other points:
1. I'm not a patent lawyer and have no opinion as to the validity of the patents. My comments are strategic only.
2. I haven't read the pleadings, but it's not unheard of to ask a bankruptcy court for this type of permission, but to wait -- sometimes indefinitely -- to bring the claims themselves. Apple may simply be sending a message that it is not without recourse if Kodak goes too far.
As someone who owned and cherished Kodak cameras back in the day, I am as saddened as anyone to see what's happening to that company. But there are real indications that their final chapter will be as a patent troll. They certainly have that right, but Apple would be positively crazy to take it without a fight.
Two other points:
1. I'm not a patent lawyer and have no opinion as to the validity of the patents. My comments are strategic only.
2. I haven't read the pleadings, but it's not unheard of to ask a bankruptcy court for this type of permission, but to wait -- sometimes indefinitely -- to bring the claims themselves. Apple may simply be sending a message that it is not without recourse if Kodak goes too far.
Cheaper to BUY Kodak instead????
PS: The QuickTake 100 supposedly was a Kodak guts in new case.
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Would end a lot of uncertainty, protect Apple from changes in licensing agreements, and could make Apple look like a hero depending on how they license it out to others.
PS: The QuickTake 100 supposedly was a Kodak guts in new case.
Edit:
Would end a lot of uncertainty, protect Apple from changes in licensing agreements, and could make Apple look like a hero depending on how they license it out to others.
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This is how they keep their cash. When you make that much profit, there are attorneys out there that will just file any lawsuit they can to get an out of court settlement. It is like a swarm of locus over a field of freshly bloomed crops. You have to fight back.
Also, didn't John Scully go to Kodak after he left Apple and the Newton took a dive? Is he named in any of these filings?