2004 Sun loses against Kodak, pays damages & royalties for use of Java
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On 2004-10-01 Sun Microsystems was found guilty of infringing 3 broad patents owned by Kodak and threatened with further lawsuits seeking damages of 1.06 bn usd. In an out-of-court settlement, Sun paid 96 mn usd to Kodak and thereby cleared Java users of the risks. The Kodak patents also cover Microsoft's Dotnet. Microsoft is said to be paying license fees to Kodak as well. Kodak acquired these patents from Wang Laboratories.
Media Echo
2004-10-29 US Schwartz: Tech issues that'll give you the creeps (Florian Mueller's comments)
2004-10-13 EU ZDNet.co.uk: Sun's patent settlement sparks controversy
2004-10-08 UK ZDNet Opinion: Sun has betrayed us all
2004-10-05 US eWeek: Kodak's Java Case Underscores Patent System Woes
2004-10-08 US iwon: Kodak, Sun Microsystems Settle High-Stakes Suit Over Java; see also Slashdot, Groklaw
2004-10-06 US Network World, Inc: Microsoft, HP, IBM - safe from Kodak software patent
2004-10-05 US Out-Law.com: Jury says Java infringed Kodak patents
2004-10-05 US Tekrati: Illuminata: Kodak Joins SCO in Patent Frenzy (based on Illuminata: Kodak's Moment: Java Today, Tomorrow the World)
2004-10-04 US Network World, Inc.: Kodak wins patent lawsuit against Sun
2004-10-04 US internetnews.com: Sun's Java Infringes on Kodak Patents
2004-10-03 US Groklaw; and Slashdot discussion (--> Sun)
2004-10-02 US Rochester Business Journal: Jurors find for Eastman Kodak in patent rights case against Sun "Kodak is seeking some $1 billion in damages for infringements by Sun's lucrative Java software platform against three software patents the photo giant acquired from Wang Laboratories in 1997." Also in Rochester Democrat & Chronicle "Software patents are just coming into vogue." Groklaw comments.
2004-09-13 US US$ 1 billion lawsuit from Kodak against Sun starts over 3 software patents Java allegedly infringes on
