ITC says it won't review Apple-Kodak patent decision

IDG News Service - The U.S. International Trade Commission has terminated an investigation into a complaint by Apple that Eastman Kodak infringed on some of its patents in its cameras.

The ITC said on Monday that it decided not to review a May 12 ruling by an ITC administrative law judge that Kodak did not infringe Apple's patents.

Apple filed a complaint with the ITC in May last year, saying Kodak had infringed two of its patents in the areas of image processing, power management, and memory architectures in portable digital devices. It asked the agency to bar Kodak from importing into the U.S. products that contain the technology.

Apple filed its complaint with the ITC after Kodak filed a complaint in January 2010 against Apple and Research In Motion, alleging patent infringement. A decision on this case may be delayed up to August, after the ITC referred the issue back to an administrative law judge who had ruled against Kodak. The patent at issue in this case relates to camera-phone image previews.

Both companies have also filed cases in court in connection with their respective claims.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. Follow John on Twitter at @Johnribeiro. John's e-mail address is john_ribeiro@idg.com