We all know the story of Motorola being bought by Google, surprising the industry including competitors Apple and Microsoft. There are now speculations that Kodak will be next. The compelling reason why titans should buy Kodak is similar to Motorola’s; both companies are sitting on a wealth of patent.
The Kodak patent’s are worth five times the company itself, according to analysts. So whether or not the lackluster performance of the company and sales and market penetration is considered, it is still a valuable company.
Speculations are a buzz in the internet point out to three companies hovering for Kodak and they are Samsung and Microsoft. Samsung’s buyout of Kodak’s patents can mean an edge over court nemesis Apple.
If you want some perspective on the story of patent wars and Kodak, you can read up on some of the issues here. Click the links for more on the story:
Apple-Samsung Patent War Begins To Bore Judge, Execs To Settle Out Of Court?
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For a little refresher, the case began with Apple filing a patent infringement suit against Samsung in April over certain Galaxy and Infuse products that mimic Apple’s look and feel. Samsung retaliated by asserting its own patents against Apple, and from there it’s been a back-and-forth struggle. Apple asked to examine five Samsung devices, including phones and tablets. Of course, Samsung did the same, and asked to see the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5. While Samsung was ordered by Judge Koh to hand over its products, Apple has yet to be given the same order, and called Samsung’s request harassment. The most recent update to the case
came last week, when Apple added a whopping seven Samsung devices to its list of copycats.
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Has the Patent Game Changed? Just Ask Kodak
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The intellectual property hustle used to be so simple: purer, even. Patent holders extracted licensing fees, lump-sum settlements or cross-licensing agreements from nonholders, who paid up to avoid messy lawsuits or injunctions. It was a drag for almost everyone involved, but the stakes were comparatively small. Now, multibillion-dollar portfolio sales have put blood in the water, attracting an entirely different kind of shark.
We’ve already seen this play out once with Motorola. It’s easy to forget now that just a few weeks before Google stepped in to buy the company, investor Carl Icahn publicly and privately urged Motorola to sell off its patents, either for cash or by (again) splitting up the company.
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