Complaint alleges Kodak inkjet printers infringe US patent 7,097,286.
Printer manufacturer Kyocera Mita announced 19 December 2011 that it has filed a complaint in the US District Court for Southern District of California against Eastman Kodak for the infringement of a patent for inkjet recording head structure.
The patent in question, 7,097,286, was filed on 12 November 2003 and awarded in 2006. The patent pertains to the “ink jet recording head structure, ink jet printer, powder molding method, method of manufacturing recording head structure supporting member, and powder molding press apparatus”, in particular to setting a suitable range for surface
roughness around an ink delivery hole.
A Kyocera Mita press release stated that the suit “seeks as-yet undetermined monetary damages, as well as an injunction against Kodak to cease manufacturing and sales of products that infringe said patent”.
The Wall Street Journal published a remark from Kodak spokesman Christopher Veronda, claiming the suit was “a legal tactic being employed by a technology competitor to change the dynamics of a long-running breach-of-contract dispute in which we have alleged
failure to pay royalties. We intend to pursue this matter vigorously.”
Neither Kyocera Mita nor Kodak were available for immediate comment.