Kodak, Sony enter cross-licensing pact

Eastman Kodak Co. has entered a cross-licensing agreement with Sony Corp. that allows the manufacturers to access each other's patents. Kodak also has signed a similar cross-licensing agreement with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB.

"We are pleased to have reached a mutually beneficial arrangement that advances the interests of the three companies," said Laura Quatela, managing director, intellectual property transactions, and vice president, Kodak. "These cross-license agreements give us broad access to the technology of Sony and Sony Ericsson, and validate the strength of Kodak's intellectual property portfolio."

Kodak claimed that the agreements are royalty bearing to the company. Financial details were undisclosed.

The companies agreed to conclude their patent litigation filed in 2004, which involved a subset of their imaging technologies including image compression and digital storage technologies as well as digital camera features.