Struggling Eastman Kodak Co. on Wednesday charged Samsung with infringing five of its patents in the Galaxy Tab.
Samsung is well aware of at least one of the patents, since it
previously agreed to pay Kodak US$550 million for its use. That's the
amount Samsung agreed to pay after Kodak accused it of infringing the
patent in the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2008. However, that
complaint was settled before Samsung started selling the Galaxy Tab.
The other patents in the new suit cover things like automatically
transmitting images from an electronic camera to a service provider,
capturing digital photos to be transferred to an email address, and
transmitting photos from a digital camera over a cellular or Wi-Fi
network.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
Kodak, which is rumored to be working on filing for bankruptcy
protection, said it has licensed its digital imaging patents to more
than 30 companies including LG, Motorola and Nokia.
But it's still arguing with others. Last week Kodak filed complaints
against Apple and HTC with the ITC and in court. Kodak alleges that
smartphones and tablets from both companies infringe its patents related
to transmitting images.