REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 21 -- Ampex Corp., a California maker of digital image storage systems, announced today it has filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission seeking to bar Eastman Kodak Co. from the importation and sale of digital still cameras into the US due to what it says is Kodak's unauthorized use of its intellectual property. Ampex also filed suit in the US District Court in Delaware seeking unspecified damages from Kodak for patent infringement.
Ampex also announced it has entered into separate license agreements with Canon Inc. and Sanyo Electric Co., which it had sued in May, permitting the use of some of its US and foreign patents in the manufacture and sale of digital still cameras. One of the license agreements also permits use of the company's patents in cellular telephones with digital image capture and retrieval capabilities. The terms of the licenses are confidential.
As a result of the two licenses, Ampex will receive payment of approximately $11.6 million representing royalties on shipments made prior to July 1 plus running royalties based on sales of products that use its digital still camera patents. As part of the settlement, Ampex will receive a negotiated prepayment of $13.5 million from one of the licensees in royalties due on sales through March 2006.
Ampex, which filed similar litigation against Sony Corp. in July, said it is in negotiations with several other manufacturers of digital still cameras and camera-equipped cellular telephones.
For more information, visit: www.ampex.com