ITC Reopens Kodak Patent Complaint Against Apple & RIM

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced late on Friday that it will be reviewing an initial ruling from a member judge who found that neither Apple nor Research In Motion had infringed on patents owned by Kodak, according to NetworkWorld. This means that the case is effectively reopened.

The Mac Observer reported earlier on Friday that Kodak was hoping for this to be the case, and that the company’s CEO expects to net a cool billion in U.S. greenbacks from the two smartphone makers.

While the initial ruling found that neither company was infringing Kodak’s patents, a review from the full commission is part of the process of an ITC case. Apple won a similar initial ruling today from the ITC concerning complaints from Nokia, and that initial ruling will also be examined by the full commission for possible review.

The decision to review the initial ruling doesn’t necessarily mean that the ITC will overturn it, it does suggest that the full commission found something more worth examining.

Apple vs. Kodak