A flurry of imaging patents are heading Apple and Google's way, now a judge has approved Kodak's $527 million deal with the two tech giants.
Bloomberg reports that the Bankruptcy court has ok'ed the sale,
allowing the former photography great to offload more than 1,000 of its
patents.
Apple and Google joined forces after unsuccessfully vying for the patents separately.
US Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper gave the deal the green light in
Manhattan, New York. The deal is worth less than the $2 billion Kodak
was originally asking, or chancing its arm, depending on how you look at
it. Gropper said Kodak was "disappointed" it couldn't charge its
original price, but added, "We're moving the case forward, so we should
be optimistic."
As well as Apple and Google, the group buying the patents includes
Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, BlackBerry-maker RIM, and Samsung. So it's
like a who's who of tech giants.
Kodak filed for bankruptcy this time last year, and started the auction in August.
It's quite common for firms to team up with their rivals to buy out a
bankrupt company's patents. Sharing patents will save them a lot of
court time later on, so it's just easier for everyone, not to mention
less expensive. Kodak's lawyers said the money
it collects from the sale (estimated to be $525 million, so not sure
who's pocketing the other $2 million) will give it some "patent peace".
And that's something we could all do with more of in the tech world.
It's a shame to see Kodak go to the wall, but the 132-year-old company is just the latest in a litany
of victims of the economic climate. Here's hoping its legacy can live
on through its patents being incorporated into Apple and Google's smart
phones of the future.
What new imaging features would you like to see in your handset? And
should tech giants try a little harder to get on, instead of flinging
muck in countless court cases? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.
Related Posts
- Anonymous27 Jun 2014Facebook fights 'largest ever' US court data request
Facebook is fighting a US court order in which it was forced to hand over data belonging to almost...
- Anonymous27 Jun 2014Should we fear the robots of the future?
The world's oldest technology magazine is the MIT Technology Review. Published by the Massa...
- Anonymous27 Jun 2014MTN Bringing The Most Affordable Smartphones Ever To Nigeria
As a way of maintaining its leading role in the fast growing Nigerian telecommunication industry, ...
- Anonymous26 Jun 20145 online privacy tips from an ex-FBI agent
If anyone knows about cyber surveillance, it's Mary Galligan.Until recently, she led the cyber an...
- Anonymous24 Jun 2014Twitter Founder Turned Down $500M Facebook Bid
In the early days of Twitter, founder Biz Stone says he turned down a huge offer from Mark Zucker...
- Anonymous05 Sep 2013Locate Your Missing Smart Phone
Smart phonesMobile devices have become an intrinsic part of society. Most of us can’t go a day wi...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Post a Comment