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The Bankruptcy StrategistLJN NewslettersNewsSections

The Kodak Bankruptcy

By Richard Gervase and Abigail O'Brient
March 27, 2012

On Jan. 18, 2012, Eastman Kodak Company and 15 of its affiliates (collectively, Kodak) filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Case No. 1:12-bk-10202-alg. Kodak, which describes itself as “one of the world's leading material science companies,” has worked to transform its business from one primarily based on film and consumer photography to one with a “digital growth strategy focused on the commercialization of proprietary digital imaging and printing technologies.” The costs associated with this transformation are one of the reasons Kodak commenced its bankruptcy case.

Kodak has developed significant intellectual property over the years, and currently owns 13,100 foreign patent and trademark registrations or pending registrations in approximately 160 countries and 9,800 patent and trademark registrations and applications in the United States. These patents include Kodak's digital capture and imaging portfolio, which historically has generated significant revenue for Kodak, earning $3 billion in licensing revenue from 2003 through 2010. However, in 2011, licensing revenues from the digital capture and licensing portfolio declined to $98 million. The sale of this and other intellectual property figures prominently into Kodak's plans for reorganization.

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