After having collected royalties in 2009 worth $550 million and $144 million from LG and Samsung in the latest dispute with electronic giants, Kodak is now receiving from Apple and RIM as well. A legal battle that started off at the beginning of last year by Kodak in court and that was declared a draw by a chief judge, is now partly finished with the ruling that Kodak is right to ask for compensation for patent infringement from Apple and RIM, which might end up with Kodak receiving $1 billion. The final ruling will be given on the 23^rd of May.

The International Trade Commission cannot actuate monetary damages, as Bloomberg mentions, but it can block the production of patent infringement products, although it would be more convenient for Apple to pay the damages instead of shutting off production. After the public image boost and the sound financial income from the two culprits, Kodak’s stock rose 25 percent following these legal issues settled by the International Trade Commission.

“Our primary interest is not to disrupt the availability of any product but to obtain fair compensation for the use of our technology,” said Laura G. Quatela, chief intellectual property officer, and vice president of Eastman Kodak Company. “There’s a basic issue of fairness that needs to be addressed. Those devices use Kodak technology, and we are merely seeking compensation for the use of our technology in their products.”

Patent infringement lawsuit act like an aggressive virus in the IT and electronics domain at the moment. Apple is wrapped up in lawsuits itself, and the latest accusation is against Amazon for using Apple’s trademark of the phrase ‘App Store’, after having notified Amazon repeatedly.

Whether it’s just a fad or a good source of money, patent and trademark infringement lawsuits are halting the progress of technology. Such companies might as well put all their efforts into developing products and commit to innovation instead of spending time in court.