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Sun and Kodak Settle Out of Court

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the dealing-on-the-sly dept.

prostoalex writes "The patent dispute between Eastman Kodak and Sun Microsystems in regards to three patents that EK claimed Sun was violating with Java, came to an end. Thursday afternoon Associated Press announced the companies settled out of court with terms of the deal unclear yet. Before Eastman Kodak was looking for $1.06 billion in damages."

7 of 201 comments (clear)

  1. Sun, Kodak... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 1, Funny

    There's got to be a red-eye joke in there somewhere...

    How about the settlement consisted of 20 million copies of Photoshop Elements?

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
  2. Non-Compete by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    As part of the settlement, Kodak asked they also agree not to go after the film developing business. It seems Kodak wants to keep Sun out of the Darkroom.

    Okay, not really. Just a bad joke.

  3. Re:HOW Much?! by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 4, Funny

    How can 3 patents be worth 1.06$ billion dollars? I thought Kodak was in the crapper these days anyway. Would this have been their only means to making any sort of a profit?

    A dying company goes on a binge of IP litigation. Why does that sound so familiar?

  4. Is slashdot crazy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Related links
    - ...
    - Best deals: The Almighty Buck
    - ...

    I click on it and it says "Your search for The Almighty Buck was unsuccessful."

  5. Re:Now I'm wondering... by thpr · · Score: 2, Funny
    It states "Microsoft has software called .Net that's similar to Java. However, the software giant, like Hewlett-Packard and IBM, has licensed Kodak's patents, Lanzillo said".

    I would actually bet (but don't know) that these licensing arrangements are NOT specifically from these patents. All three of those players (MS, HP, IBM) have very good reason to have cross-licensing agreements with Kodak - Sun just hasn't been in an overlapping market with Kodak to justify such a position. Most large companies in overlapping markets have such agreements and swap some cash every so often based on who is using what patent... simply to avoid spending much time in court.

  6. Re:The fix was in by idlemachine · · Score: 3, Funny
    Or do you blame Microsoft when it rains in the weekend too?

    I dunno, $75 billion profit buys a hell of a lot of weather control R&D...

  7. Re:A Sign of Things to Come by BurritoWarrior · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pick up some SCOX while you are over there too.

    You could even start a The Dying Company Files Worthless IP Lawsuits mutual fund.