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Eastman Kodak Company (PINK:EKDKQ) shares fell sharply on Thursday, extending their losses for May. The stock fell 5.85% to finish the day at $0.161. The stock tumbled more than 43% in the month of May.
Last month, Eastman Kodak suffered a major setback in its bankruptcy process after an International Trade Commission (ITC) judge ruled that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) did not violate a Kodak patent since it was invalid.
Thomas Pender, administrative law judge at ITC, said in his ruling that the patent in question was invalid because it was obvious. Kodak had alleged that Apple and RIM violated its patent that enables a user to preview digital images.
Earlier this year, the once iconic company had filed for bankruptcy after struggling for years due to competition from smartphone makers. The bankruptcy filing was imminent once the company failed to sell a portfolio of its digital imaging patents.
The patent sale is an important part of Kodak’s restructuring plan, and therefore the ITC ruling is a major blow for the company.
EKDKQ is still optimistic, though. The company said that the ITC ruling was preliminary and that it would win in the end because the patent has already been found valid by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
The ITC will give its final decision in September. The final ruling could well decide the future of Kodak.
