Apple Seeks Bankruptcy Court's Blessing to Sue Kodak over Patents

With Kodak having filed last-minute patent lawsuits against Apple and HTC as it was heading into bankruptcy last month, Bloomberg reports that Apple is looking to assert itself against the pioneering photography company with a new lawsuit alleging infringement of Apple-held patents.

While Apple says in its filing with the bankruptcy court overseeing Kodak's case that it is not required to seek approval for a lawsuit, Apple notes that it is requesting the court's blessing "out of an abundance of caution".

Apple Inc. asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to sue Eastman Kodak Co. over allegations it’s infringing patents that Apple says cover technologies used in printers, digital cameras and digital picture frames. [...]

While arguing bankruptcy law doesn’t prevent the filing of infringement suits against a company in court protection, “Apple requests express authority from this court before it initiates the actions out of an abundance of caution,” the company’s lawyers wrote in the filing.

In a separate case, Apple has been contending that it is the rightful owner of a patent currently held by Kodak. Apple claims that through its partnership with Kodak to produce QuickTake digital cameras during the mid-1990s, Kodak misappropriated intellectual property involved in the project and patented it for itself.

Apple QuickTake 100, manufactured by Kodak (Source: Time)