Licensees move to assert rights ahead of Kodak patent sale

Kodak's sale of some 1,100 digital imaging patents has hit another road bump after a slew of tech giants that license the US-based manufacturer's technology filed objections to the proposed sale.

Technology firms including Canon, Fujifilm, Motorola, Nintendo and Samsung, all filed objections ahead of today's (2 July) court hearing to establish the terms for the fast-track patent sale.

The objections revolve around the fact that the proposed terms of the auction do not currently include any "protections for [existing] Kodak licensees", according to a Samsung filing.

While the objections are likely to be resolved at the 2 July hearing, they are not the only outstanding roadblock to the sale proceeding as planned on the 8 August.

The bankruptcy court still hasn't resolved the dispute between Apple and Kodak over the ownership of 10 patents contained within the portfolio that is up for sale. Kodak has argued that Apple's ownership claim is simply a ploy to put off paying some $1bn in alleged patent-infringement damages and royalties.

Kodak's ongoing patent sale problems come as it filed accounts for its first quarter in Chapter 11 (the three months to 31 March 2012), in which it made a US$476 million ($466 million) pre-tax loss on consolidated revenues of US$965 million.

As of 31 March the digital manufacturer had total assets of US$5.1 billion, including cash and cash equivalents of US$1.4 billion. However, its total liabilities were US$7.8 billion, giving it a total equity (deficit) of US$2.7bn.

Restructuring costs totalled US$94 million for the period, while Kodak's net loss, after a US$110 million tax credit, came in at $366 million.

Kodak Australia declined to comment.

This article originally appeared at printweek.com