Eastman Kodak’s camera phone image preview patent claim against Apple and Research in Motion, filed last January, was declared invalid on Tuesday. A U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) administrative law judge made the ruling, according to PC World, although the full ITC still needs to make a final decision in the case; that’s expected by May 23.
Because the case is not quite over, Kodak issued a statement that said: “The ALJ’s recommendation in this case represents a preliminary step in a process that we are extremely confident will conclude in Kodak’s favor.” The company noted that a different judge had upheld the same patent claim when filed against Samsung and LG Electronics; Kodak and Samsung agreed to a cross-licensing deal last year.
RIM said in a statement: “RIM has shown that the only asserted claim of the Kodak patent is invalid.” Apple has not responded yet.