Number of technology firms object to Kodak’s proposed sale of around 1,100 digital imaging patents.
Technology website PrintWeek reports that several companies that license Kodak’s technology, including Canon, Fujifilm, Motorola, Nintendo and Samsung, have filed objections against the OEM’s proposed fast-track patent sale, claiming that the proposed terms of the auction exclude protections for licensees.
The objections are expected to be resolved at the court hearing on 2 July, in which the terms of the sale are to be established, with the sale due to take place on 8 August.
However, in addition to the licensees’ objections, Kodak also faces an unresolved dispute against Apple regarding ownership of 10 of the patents due to be sold, with the article stating that “Kodak has argued that Apple’s ownership claim is simply a ploy to put off paying some $1 billion (€790 million)in alleged patent infringement damages and royalties”.
In March, The Recycler reported that Lawrence Gamblin, President of Collins Ink which was owed $1.9 million (€1.4 million) by Kodak, remained sceptical of the company’s ability to repay its unsecured creditors unless Kodak “somehow manages to sell the patent portfolio they put on the market for a large number.”
Kodak filed for bankruptcy in January and, according to the PrintWeek article, “filed accounts for its first quarter in Chapter 11, in which it made a $476 million (€376 million) pre-tax loss on consolidated revenues of $965 million (€764 million)”, and suffered a net loss of $366 million (€289 million).