It's a pretty typical reaction if someone punches you to punch them back. I didn't even grow up with any brothers or sisters, but I still know that's an unwritten rule that might as well be set in stone.
The same goes for the business world. There's only so much pushing and shoving you can do with some of the biggest names on Wall Street before they begin to fight back. That's exactly the way Apple
Specifically, Apple is targeting alleged violations of its technology used in Kodak's printers, digital cameras, and digital picture frames. Does this sound familiar at all? Well it should, because Kodak filed a similar lawsuit against Apple and Research In Motion
This isn't Kodak's first time with patent infringement lawsuits. CEO Antonio Perez has made suing rivals a core business strategy for the past few years. It successfully reached a settlement with LG Electronics in 2009 and Samsung in 2010 (regarding a different patent than in the lawsuit filed last month), but has not had the same success with the strategy against Apple and RIM.
In an even odder twist, despite the ongoing patent dispute with Apple and RIM, as part of Kodak's restructuring effort, it plans to completely abandon the digital camera market and instead go toe-to-toe with Hewlett-Packard
With roughly 1,100 patents currently in its portfolio, and only one small deal recently struck with IMAX
Kodak decided to play with the industry bull, and now it's getting the horns. Needless to say, it's going to be interesting to see how this shoving match plays out.
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