An administrative law judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Samsung has infringed two camera patents developed by Kodak.
The ruling is an initial determination, meaning it is now subject to review by the commission.
The ruling is a result of a complaint first filed late last year by Kodak charging both Samsung and LG with patent infringement. The patents cover technology related to image capture, compression and data storage, and a method for previewing images, Kodak said.
Kodak asked the ITC to prevent LG and Samsung from importing and selling products in the U.S. that it says infringe on its patents. Kodak did not name the specific products that it says use the patented technologies.
The ruling, issued on Thursday, charges Samsung with infringing the two patents and denies Samsung’s request for a ruling that the patents are invalid.
LG is not named in the ruling because LG and Kodak settled their disputes over the matter. On December 4, Kodak and LG said they had formed a cross-license agreement. As part of the deal, Kodak asked the ITC to drop its investigation into LG, and both companies settled related patent lawsuits.
Samsung can now ask the full commission to review the initial determination. If the commission upholds the ruling, it can order Samsung to stop importing products that use the relevant patents.
