Kodak files for bankruptcy: restructuring and patent suits – The Verge

Kodak officially exits bankruptcy, emerges as a commercial printing company

2013-09-03T14:42:03-04:00

via puu.sh

As expected, former camera-making company Kodak has climbed out of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy it entered in January of 2012. In a press release, the company says it finished its restructuring today, canceling its old stock and giving creditors a new set of shares. It's the culmination of nearly two years of planning, as Kodak steadily sold off assets and pared down its workforce to emerge as a tightly focused business that had lost its best-known segment: the consumer camera business that it started phasing out early last year. Kodak's website appears to still be in transition, showing the image above.

Having spun off or shut down its variou …

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Kodak’s plan to escape bankruptcy gets court approval

2013-08-20T17:35:05-04:00

Kodak (STOCK)

Struggling photography company Kodak has made another step towards exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Today, a New York judge approved a plan to emerge from bankruptcy, reducing its debt by $4.1 billion. Earlier this year, a court approved $844 million in financing for Kodak, and the company sold a hefty patent portfolio for over $500 million in 2012. As Kodak exits bankruptcy, it's offering creditors a much-reduced repayment on $2.2 billion in debt; to help finance its recovery, it also needs to sell $406 million in stock.

As part of its reorganization, Kodak has backed away from consumer products, ending its production of once-ubiquitous digit …

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Kodak plans to emerge from bankruptcy this year as court approves $844 million in financing

2013-01-23T15:52:24-05:00

Kodak Logo

When Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January of last year, it estimated that it would recover by mid-2013. Thanks to a court ruling today that approved new financing, the company appears close to fulfilling its plan; Kodak writes in an release announcing the court decision that the $844 million in financing will help the company exit bankruptcy mid-year. The approval follows a number of measures Kodak has taken in the last year as part of its reorganization, including a $525 million patent sale, the sale of its film and kiosk divisions, an exit from the consumer printing business, and a licensing deal that lends the Kodak name to pr …

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Apple and Google benefit as Kodak sells patents for $525 million

2012-12-19T08:42:21-05:00

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Kodak, which filed for bankruptcy in early 2012, has successfully sold off its imaging patent portfolio, one of its last remaining assets. In a release today, Kodak announced that it had agreed to transfer its imaging patents to Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation, a pair of patent licensing groups. In return, it will receive $525 million, something Kodak CEO Antonio Perez says will let the company "repay a substantial amount of our initial [bankruptcy financing] loan, satisfy a key condition for our new financing facility, and position our Commercial Imaging business for further growth and success."

The deal has yet to be approved by …

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Apple and Google reportedly team up for Kodak patent bid

2012-12-07T23:15:05-05:00

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Smartphone competitors Apple and Google may be teaming up to gain control of a trove of imaging patents from former film heavyweight Kodak. Bloomberg reports that the two companies were behind a bid of more than $500 million earlier this week for Kodak's 1,100 imaging patents. Kodak, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, had attempted to use its patent portfolio to sue several companies as its business prospects dwindled. Ironically enough, Apple claimed it had ownership of several of the patents - a move which eventually led to Kodak suing Apple for trying to block the patent auction.

It's not uncommon for companies to team up for …

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Kodak planning to exit consumer printing business as bankruptcy restructuring continues

2012-09-28T11:13:06-04:00

Kodak printer

Kodak today announced it would cease the sale of consumer inkjet printers and cut a total of 1,200 jobs, up from the 1,000 previously announced, as the company works to restructure its business after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. The company believes this will help increase cash flow in the US, and said that it would help focus on its transformation into a company focused on commercial, packaging & functional printing solutions and enterprise services. This appears to be an about-face to the plans Kodak outlined in February, when the company said it would focus on photo printing products and desktop inkjet printers going forward - …

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Kodak announces plans to sell film, commercial scanner, and kiosk divisions

2012-08-24T02:16:03-04:00

ektachrome

As part of its ongoing recovery efforts after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Kodak has announced its plans to sell its film, commercial scanner, and photo kiosk businesses. The proposed sale will fall alongside the company's current digital imaging patent auction, which it hopes will yield a return profitability and guide the iconic brand out of bankruptcy. As part of its larger reorganization plans, Kodak is moving away from the consumer market and will instead focus on commercial packaging and printing products. Despite seemingly abandoning most of its photography divisions, Kodak says it isn't abandoning its legacy and promises to find …

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ITC dismisses Kodak patent claim against RIM and Apple

2012-07-22T11:59:07-04:00

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Kodak's plan to recoup its losses by leveraging valuable patents has just been shaken, as the International Trade Commission has dismissed claims that RIM and Apple are infringing on a technique for previewing images. The case was filed in 2010, with Kodak claiming that the iPhone and BlackBerry's cameras violated the '218 patent, which covered techniques for displaying still images before and after taking a picture. Now, the ITC has upheld its judge's previous finding that the patent was invalid.

Kodak filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, and it's relying on patent sales to help it restructure. The '218 patent has allegedly been one of …

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PSA: Kodak Gallery begins transition to Shutterfly, some user accounts unavailable

2012-07-06T02:14:06-04:00

shutterfly

Kodak sold off its Gallery online photo sharing service to Shutterfly as part of ongoing restructuring efforts, and the transition is now taking place. Kodak Gallery has closed for business, with users unable to view their photos until their accounts have been transferred to Shutterfly. How long will that take? Well, that's the real question - Shutterfly CIO Geoffrey Weber tells the LA Times that the most active users will get priority and should be moved over within a couple of weeks, with less frequent users likely having to wait one or two months.

You should be good if you've already linked your Kodak Gallery to a new Shutterfly account …

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Kodak wins clearance to sell digital imaging patents

2012-07-03T02:15:06-04:00

kodak logo

A bankruptcy court in New York has given Kodak clearance to sell off its digital imaging patents, despite objections from Apple and FlashPoint Technologies. Apple and FlashPoint initially challenged Kodak's patent auction back in January, claiming ownership over ten of the patent assets up for sale. Kodak finally responded to these claims last month, filing a lawsuit against the two companies for allegedly interfering with its post-bankruptcy sale. A decision in this case is still pending, but Kodak is already claiming a major victory with Monday's decision, which asserts the company's ownership over its patents, and allows it to open its auc …

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