Stock in Eastman Kodak rose on Wednesday after staff investigators at the US International Trade Commission sided with the photography pioneer in its patent-infringement battle with smartphone giants Apple and Research in Motion.
The third-party investigators at the federal agency, which oversees trade disputes, found that Apple and Canada-based RIM infringed an image-preview patent Kodak obtained in 2001. They recommended an order barring imports of Apple's iPhones and Research In Motion's BlackBerry phones.
Recommendations by staff investigators are not always followed by the Washington, DC-based commission. Its full panel of six commissioners agreed in March to rule on the patent claim by June 23.
The investigators' recommendations were originally filed April 15 and made public Tuesday. Eastman Kodak stock jumped 48 cents Wednesday, or 15 percent, to close at a seven-week high of $3.60 (about R25). Kodak is attempting to negotiate a royalty-paying deal worth up to $1 billion in its claim against Apple and RIM. RIM spokeswoman Marisa Conway said the company typically does not comment on pending litigation. Calls to Cupertino, California-based Apple were not immediately returned Wednesday.
In Kodak's latest skirmish with Apple, a judge at the trade commission ruled last Thursday that the 131-year-old camera maker's digital-camera technology does not infringe on Apple's patent rights and said one of the two patents in dispute is invalid.
Judge Robert Rogers Jr.'s reasoning won't be made public until both Kodak and Apple review his ruling and determine if it includes information that the companies feel is confidential. His decision also is subject to review by the agency's six commissioners.
Patent cases can take years to resolve, and agreements over licensing and royalty payments often emerge. But the trade commission, which can order Customs to block imports of products made with contested technology, is seen as a fast-track mediator that typically resolves disputes in 12 to 18 months.
Kodak, based in Rochester, New York, has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents, and almost all of today's digital cameras rely on that technology. Mining its rich array of inventions has become an indispensable tool in its long and painful digital overhaul.