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Feb. 21, 2010

The U.S. International Trade Commission says it is investigating allegations that the digital cameras in Apple's iPhones and Research in Motion's BlackBerry are infringing on various patents held by Eastman Kodak.

Kodak alleges that Research in Motion and Apple's respective mobile handsets infringe on a patent for photo-viewing technology.

Kodak is requesting that the U.S. ITC issue a cease and desist order that would stop Apple and RIM from shipping their MIDs (mobile Internet devices).

Kodak has won a dispute with Samsung last December when a Judge ruled that the South Korean company had infringed upon its color image preview patent.

The ITC will set a target date for completing the investigation within 45 days.

Overall, patent cases can drag on for many years so that sales of BlackBerry devices and the iPhone are not in immediate danger of being banned, and this is frustrating for Eastman Kodak.

For its part, Kodak has also filed two additional lawsuits against Apple in a U.S. District Court that allege the company infringed patents covering image preview, the processing of images of different resolutions and a unique method by which a computer program can "ask for help" from another application to carry out certain computer-oriented tasks.

The "help" patents were previously the subject of more litigation between Kodak and Sun Microsystems in 2004, when a federal jury ruled in favor of Eastman Kodak.

We will keep you updated on this and other news stories.

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Source: Eastman Kodak.