Kodak to sell hotly-contested patents

Mobiledia.

Kodak said it is selling 1 000 patents, or 10% of its patent portfolio.

The image-previewing patent, which is currently part of pending lawsuits against Apple and Research In Motion (RIM), may be the biggest draw for the patent sale, especially as tech companies stock up on intellectual property as protection in escalating patent lawsuits, says TNW Apple.

The image-previewing patent may be an especially important one, especially as smartphones become increasingly sophisticated.

Chief executive Antonio Perez has been using Kodak's intellectual property as a means of funding the company's long and expensive transformation.

In 2008, Perez put forth a goal to generate between $250 million and $350 million a year from Kodak's patent portfolio.

Kodak's decision to sell its patents comes after Nortel sold its patent portfolio for $4.5 billion to a group led by Apple and RIM, and renewed interest in companies like InterDigital, according to Benzinga.