ITC Judge Sides With Kodak in Apple Suit

Kodak scored an early win in its ongoing IP skirmish with Apple this week when an International Trade Commission judge found in its favor, ruling that Kodak’s digital camera technology did not infringe upon Apple’s patents.

ITC Judge Robert Rogers said late Thursday that the patents at issue in the case–U.S. Patent No. 6,031,934: “Computer vision system for subject characterization” and U.S. Patent No. RE38,911: “Modular digital image processing via an image processing chain with modifiable parameter controls”–have not been infringed. He also found one to be invalid.

The full ITC still needs to formally accept or reject Rogers’ decision, so this isn’t yet a done deal. But things are certainly looking good for Kodak.

Earlier this year, it sued Apple and Research in Motion claiming the companies are infringing its technology for previewing photos and processing images of different resolutions.

A full ITC Commission decision on that isn’t expected until late June, but if it goes Kodak’s way, the company could be in for a windfall. Kodak Chairman and CEO Antonio Perez has said victory in that case could generate as much as $1 billion in royalties.