Kodak sues Samsung, LG over camera patents

[November 18, 2008]  ROCHESTER, New York (AP) -- Eastman Kodak Co. said it is suing South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. for infringing various digital-camera patents it obtained between 1993 and 2001.

The photography products company alleges that camera phones made by the Seoul-based electronics companies and their U.S. subsidiaries violate patents on its inventions related to image capture, compression and data storage, and a method for previewing motion images.

The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Rochester seeks unspecified monetary damages. Kodak also lodged a complaint with the International Trade Commission in Washington, a move designed to stop importation of products made with the disputed technology.

"We've held discussions with both companies in an attempt to resolve this issue and have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement," said Laura Quatela, Kodak's chief intellectual property officer. "Consequently, we must take this legal action."

The dispute centers on patents issued in 1993, 1997 and 2001, Kodak spokesman David Lanzillo said.

Samsung issued a statement Tuesday saying it "forbids infringement and unauthorized use" of the intellectual property of other companies and "plans to respond actively to this litigation," according to Lee Eun-hee, a company spokeswoman.

LG, meanwhile, flatly denied Kodak's claim.

"The technology we've used in our products are totally ours and have nothing to do with Kodak," spokeswoman Judy Pae said. "We are going to actively deal with this litigation."

Kodak has licensed its imaging patents to various technology companies including Panasonic Corp., Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp., Olympus Corp. and Sony Corp.

In January 2007, Kodak ended a long-standing patent dispute with Sony over digital-camera inventions dating back to 1987 and entered a cross-licensing deal giving the companies access to each other's patents.

Kodak had alleged in a 2004 lawsuit that Sony infringed on 10 patents for digital camera patents issued from 1987 to 2003 involving digital and video technologies such as image compression and digital storage.

Kodak has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents -- and almost all of today's digital cameras rely on that technology.

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On the Net:

http://www.kodak.com/

[Associated Press; By BEN DOBBIN]

AP Business Writer Kelly Olsen in Seoul contributed to this report.

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