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Judge OK’s Kodak Patent Sales, Not Impressed by Apple Claims on Property

Judge OK’s Kodak Patent Sales, Not Impressed by Apple Claims on Property

A bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of over 1,100 Kodak patents, in spite of Apple’s requests to block the auction on the grounds that it has claims on some of the intellectual property.

AppleInsider:

Kodak said in a statement that the auction is expected to take place in August, AFP reported on Tuesday. According to the companies, buyers will be able to purchase the patents “free and clear of all ownership allegations” from either Apple or Flashpoint Technology.

“The Apple and FlashPoint claims are baseless and Kodak will still seek dismissal on summary judgment in July,” said Kodak Chief Intellectual Property Officer Timothy Lynch.

The patent sale will include 700 patents for “image capture, processing and transmission technologies for digital cameras and other devices” and over 400 more patents related to “tools for image analysis, manipulation, tagging, and network-based services.”

Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection in January. The photography pioneer said at the time that it was a necessary step toward completing its “transformation” in the digital era.

Kodak had attempted to get cash from Apple with patent litigation, but failed to prove its case against the iOS device maker.

The company then tried to sell off its patents, but no buyer was found. Offloading the patents was one of Kodak’s primary goals in filing for bankruptcy.

Apple has been actively attempting to block the sale of the patents, as it claimed ownership of 10 of the patents as a result of collaboration on the “QuickTake” camera with Kodak in the 1990s.