11.14.12
Gemini version available ♊︎Kodak is a Patent Time Bomb
Patents blast from the past
Summary: An excellent lesson on what happens to patents when companies implode
It has been a while since we last heard about Kodak. Here is an update:
Kodak has signed a deal to get a lifeline of $793 million in credit from its bondholders, which would allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy. There’s one catch, though: the company has to sell its portfolio of 1,100 patents for at least $500 million to get the rest of the cash, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Those interested in bidding on the patents include the same coalition of “strange bedfellows” that have been talked about for months as possible buyers. The group includes major smartphone companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung, as well as patent aggregators like RPX Corp. and Intellectual Ventures.
See our wiki for some context. Kodak will probably be a major nuisance pretty soon. The intelligence gathered becomes handy under those circumstances. █