Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Eastman Kodak Company

Eastman Kodak Preparing To File For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:21:59 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company is preparing to file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection in the next few weeks just in case they are unable to sell a collection of digital patents. Kodak currently employs about 19,000 people and they are discussing with lenders for about $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing that would keep them from shutting down.

Kodak has about 1,100 patents that they could sell through a court-supervised bankruptcy auction. Kodak would continue to pay their bills and operate normally while under bankruptcy protection. Kodak said in a securities filing that they will run out of cash to fund their operations unless they are able to sell some of their patents or are able to borrow more money. The company is also at risk of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange unless they are able to rebound in the next six months.

Kodak CEO Antonio Perez considered using patent lawsuits and licensing deals as a strategy to raise cash and fund the turnaround, but that did not work out. Kodak hired restructuring advisers and drew about $160 million from a credit line. Kodak would be using the bankruptcy proceedings to run a court-supervised auction in selling the patents, which is a very similar way that Nortel Networks Corp. did last year. Nortel sold their patents to a consortium of companies for $4.5 billion. The auction would be overseen by a judge with court approved procedures.

Kodak Announces Document Print Android App For Use With Google Cloud Print

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:17:26 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) has announced that they have launched a new app for the Android operating system called the KODAK Document Print App. Consumers will now be able to send documents from the Android operating system device directly to the KODAK All-In-One Printer using Google Cloud Print.

The supported files include Microsoft office documents, PDFs, text files, and image files. Files that can be accessed on Google Docs, Dropbox, and Evernote can also be printed.

“In today’s mobile society, it’s important that we provide solutions that enable people to print what they want, when they want to, from wherever they are in the world,” stated Susan Tousi, General Manager, Inkjet Systems, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “The launch of the KODAK Document Print App is one more way we are making mobile printing simple and accessible, while also offering high quality output at an affordable price.”

More information about the app can be found at: http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Document_Print_App_for_Android.htm.

Kodak is Selling 1,100 Digital Imaging Patents

Riley Kennysmith — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:04:16 +0000

Kodak’s patent portfolio is worth five times the company itself, and Kodak is responding to the siren song of “five times the money” by shopping some of its patents around. The company has been doing a lot of licensing of its digital imaging patents for the past few years, but it appears it’s time to sell a few of them. Business Week reports that Kodak hired Lazard Ltd. to market 1,100 of their patents, about 10% of the portfolio.

Kodak’s Steve Sasson invented the world’s first digital camera in 1975.

The Mobile Patent War’s Suits [INFOGRAPHIC]

Riley Kennysmith — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:02:30 +0000

This graphic from Thomson Reuters shows just who is suing whom in our current patent wars.

Kodak’s Lawsuit Against RIM and Apple

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:07:45 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) filed a patent lawsuit against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM). Kodak CEO Antonio Perez said that his company “deserves to win” and could even add over $1 billion in revenue from royalty payments.

The International Trade Commission reopened the patent infringement case against Apple and RIM for the image previewing technology used on the iPhone and BlackBerry handsets. Kodak really needs these royalties because they lost half of their market value in the past year. However the ITC ruled in favor of Kodak to gain $550 million from Samsung and $414 million from LG for violating the same patent. A different ITC judge sided with Kodak in the Samsung and LG cases. A final decision is expected to be made by May 23rd.

[Bloomberg]

Kodak Announces Pulse Digital Frames

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 21:23:30 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) has announced a couple new digital frames under the Pulse line of products. The two Kodak digital photo frames come in 7-inch and in 10-inch. The 10-inch Kodak Pulse Digital Frame W1030S and 7-inch Kodak Pulse Digital Frame W730S have WiFi built in and are 800×600 resolution. The aspect ratio is 4:3 and the interfaces are fully touch screen.

There is a hint of social networking in the photo frames because it lets you comment on photos that the frames receive through a Quick Comment button on the touchscreen. There are 12 canned responses associated with the Quick Comments like LOL! OMG! and Kodak Moment! It sends these photos with canned responses via e-mail and Facebook. The two Pulse Kodak frames also lets you stream images from Facebook or Kodak Gallery albums. The 7-inch costs $129.95 and the 10-inch costs $199.95. Both frames will be available this spring.

[ZDNet]

Kodak Announces EasyShare Sport, PlaySport, and PlayFull

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:09:34 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) announced several new products today: the EasyShare Sport waterproof camera, the PlaySport mini-camcorder, and the Playfull camcorder.

Kodak EasyShare Sport
The Kodak EasyShare Sport point-and-shoot waterproof camera is a 12 megapixel that will cost less than $100. This camera works underwater for up to 10 feet. The EasyShare does not have optical zoom, but it has digital zoom. The LCD on the back is about 2.4 inches. It will be available in spring 2011 for $79.95 and can be bought in white, gray, red, yellow, and blue.

Kodak PlaySport
The Kodak PlaySport mini-camcorder is waterproof up to 10 feet and is shock resistant. The PlaySport records at 1080p, 2-inch LCD, and is loaded with EasyShare software that makes it easy to share on Twitter and Facebook. Other features include autofocus, fast face tracking, and different shooting modes. The PlaySport is available in spring 2011 for $179.95. You can buy it in black, red, green, white, and aqua.

Kodak PlayFull
The Kodak PlayFull can record full HD 1080p and take 5 megapixel stills. The device is loaded with Kodak sharing software to quickly edit videos and share them on Facebook/Twitter. The PlayFull has B&W, sepia, high saturation, 70′s film, face tracking, electronic image stabilization, and on-camera photo editing. The PlayFull will be available in spring 2011 in silver, blue-silver, purple-silver, and blue-black for $149.95.

Kodak To Showcase PLAYSPORT Burton Edition Video Camera At CES

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:54:18 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) will be showcasing the Kodak PLAYSPORT Burton Edition video camera at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas next month. The Kodak PLAYSPORT Burton video camera has an orange pixelated design that looks similar to a Burton Custom 154 Snowboard. The camera comes with a camera holster, 4GB Kodak SDHC memory card, and Kodak lithium-ion rechargeable battery. The PLAYSPORT Burton video camera has a 5 megapixel still capture, full 1080p HD video, LCD Glare Shield function, and electronic image stabilization. The video camera is also resistant to water for up to a maximum of 10 feet. [Azooptics]

Kodak and Shutterfly Suing Each Other Over Patent Infringement

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:19:51 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) is suing Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY) over patent infringement. Shutterfly is suing Kodak back as a result according to a regulatory filing. Kodak’s online photo uploading service Kodak Gallery directly competes with Shutterfly.com.

Kodak Gallery and Shutterfly.com both sell photo books, prints, calendars, and coffee mugs. Shutterfly received the Kodak lawsuit on Friday, which is seeking an injunction along with costs and damages (legal fees). The lawsuit does not specify which patents are in dispute.

In Shutterfly’s counter-lawsuit, they also are seeking an injunction, damages, and costs. “(Shutterfly) believes that it has meritorious defenses to this action and intends to defend this matter vigorously,” stated the company in the filing.

[Bloomberg]

Kodak Facebook Application Lets You Import Full Photo Albums

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:30:07 +0000

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) has announced that they have created an application called Social Photo Album Creator for Facebook. This allows you to import full Facebook albums into your Kodak account. Once you import the album from Facebook to Kodak, you can invite your friends to add their pictures to the album also. Then you can print photos from these albums at participating retailers like Target. [Kodak Facebook App]