Apple sets court on Kodak as the fate of Chinese iPads hangs in the balance
APPLE has launched a legal campaign against Kodak, asking the New York federal bankruptcy court for permission to sue the bankrupt camera company for intellectual property theft.
A successful suit would see Kodak banned from importing various products that Apple claims infringe its patents – including printers, the area in which the once-successful photographic film firm has now set its focus.
Kodak, which filed for bankruptcy in the US less than a month ago, sued Apple in January for four patent infringements relating to the transferral of images on and off devices.
Meanwhile, Apple’s prospects in China have taken another hit as more retailers in the region have pulled the iPad from their shelves in what could prompt a mega problem for the Cupertino-based company for which China offers potentially the strongest and most profitable market.
Since Amazon’s Chinese website halted sales of the coveted device on Wednesday, two major shopping centres in Shanghai have stopped selling the iPad and several cities have been asked to empty their stock of the tablet computer.
This has been linked to an ongoing trademark dispute with Chinese company Proview Technologies over the name “iPad”, although some have claimed the storefront shelf sweeps were at Apple’s request.
Apple was not available for comment.