News 

As is often the way with big corporate legal wrangles, one lawsuit leads to another. So it is that Kodak's allegation of patent infringements - which we reported on back in early March - has lead to Sony filing a suit of its own in a New Jersey federalcourt.

Kodak's move was seen as a way of putting pressure on its competitors to license its technologies. This would represent a valuable income stream for the company that invented

ADVERTISEMENT

the digital camera, but which has since stopped making film cameras for the European and North American markets.

Sony, however, has maintained that is has not violated any Kodak patent relating to compression, colour-sensing or the storage of digital stills. It has now followed this up with a suit of its own claiming that Kodak has infringed 10 Sony patents relating to digital cameras.

According to Reuters, Sony denies that the latest move is a counter-suit - different technologies are involved. Sony's concerns centre around CCDs (charge-coupled devices) and their use of electronic shutters.

The Japanese electronics giant is seeking unspecified damages.

See also:

Kodak turns digital camera patents against Sony

Kodak to abandon film in Europe and North America