November 2, 2006 –The Federal Court in the District of Delaware ruled in favor of Eastman Kodak Company on Wednesday, rejecting a patent infringement lawsuit brought on by Ampex Corp.
“We believe that the Court reached the correct result,” said Kodak Managing Director of Intellectual Property Transactions and Vice President Laura Quatela, in a Kodak press release yesterday. “Kodak is a long-standing innovator in the digital camera industry,” she said.
In October 2004, Ampex Corp. filed a complaint with both the International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Delaware District Court, claiming Kodak infringed on Ampex-patented digital capture technology. After 10 months, Ampex dropped the complaint with the ITC, leaving the Federal Court lawsuit to be resolved over the next two years.
In May 2006, Kodak requested a summary judgment of non-infringement, a motion that had remained unresolved until this week. The District of Delaware ruled on Tuesday in favor of Kodak, maintaining that the company had not infringed on Ampex patents.
“The decision ends the nearly two-year litigation in the Distrcit Court, although Ampex may appeal the ruling to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals,” said the Kodak release.
Ampex shares dropped 25 percent this week, according to a Reuters article published yesterday.
