will sony pay for kodak's lack of vision and execution?

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 10:59:02 -0800
From: Marc Schuette <mschuette () dslnorthwest net>
Subject: will sony pay for kodak's lack of vision and execution?
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>

it looks like kodak has turned to the courts to stop the 6 year downward 
trend of their stock price. i guess there is a new business model emerging 
- if you can't beat 'em then sue 'em.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115141,00.asp

Kodak Sues Sony Over Digicams

Company is accused of violating patents on digital imaging.

Stacy Cowley, IDG News Service
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Eastman Kodak filed suit against Sony and several of its subsidiaries this 
week, charging Sony with violating Kodak patents on digital and video 
camera technologies.
        
Kodak's concise complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for New York's 
Western District, ticks off 10 patents, issued from 1987 to 2003, that it 
accuses Sony of infringing in its electronic products. Kodak is seeking 
injunctions against further infringement and unspecified damages, according 
to its court papers. The company says Sony has been aware of some of its 
alleged violations since July 2001.

In a prepared statement, Sony says it has not violated any Kodak 
digital-imaging patents, and will "vigorously defend" itself against the 
charges.

Point and Shoot

Rochester, New York-based Kodak ranked second, behind Sony, in U.S. 
point-and-shoot digital camera sales last year, according to research firm 
IDC. Kodak, however, showed faster growth, increasing its unit shipments 
from 1.4 million in 2002 to 2.9 million in 2003. Sony, which shipped 3.6 
million units last year, controls a 21.7 percent share of the market, IDC 
estimates.

Kodak is accusing Tokyo-based Sony of violating patents related to digital 
storage, image previewing, and selecting images for printing on a separate 
device, among others.

Kodak's most famous role in a patent case is as defendant. It spent the 
1980s embroiled in a patent dispute over instant photography technology 
with Polaroid. Kodak was forced out of that market by court decisions, and 
in 1991 a judge finalized an $873 million award to Polaroid for royalties, 
lost profits, and interest.

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