Posts Tagged: "digital camera"

There are few more interesting tragedies in the history of American business than the demise of Kodak, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2012. and few that are more frustrating given the fact that the key to the company’s renewed success lay within its grasp for years. Digital photography, the technology that decimated Kodak in the 1990s and 2000s, was originally a Kodak innovation. The company’s stubborn refusal to support the development that rivalled its core product, film, should be a cautionary tale to any major corporation and a sign to innovative start-ups that even the most monolithic corporations can become vulnerable.

In the patent applications filed by this company, we found an interesting trio of printing technologies, including one filing which would protect an improved system for printing and binding booklets. Medical innovations, including an endoscopic tool which can be selectively made transparent and visible depending on endoscopic operation needs, are discussed below. We also noted an innovation for reducing erroneous operations in an electronic device with multiple touchscreen panels. There have been many recent additions to Canon’s already globally renowned patent portfolio that we profile today. We discuss a few patents issued to protect improvements to robotics technologies for manufacturing facilities. A couple of patents show Canon’s interest in improving nanofabrication techniques for creating semiconductors. We also explore inventions related to printing copy-forgery-inhibited patterns and high precision scanning technologies.

According to a myriad of patent applications filed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Nikon is serious about expanding its intellectual property holdings in the area of lithography, especially immersion lithography, for the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronics. An X-ray device which is less affected by thermal expansion and a digital bulletin board for an online electronic album service are also discussed in recently filed Nikon patent applications. Nikon’s patent portfolio isn’t the most extensive one we feature on IPWatchdog, but it is still quite valuable. A number of immersion lithography innovations are featured in these patents and we discuss a couple of technologies designed to improve the control of fluids or vapors in use by these systems. Digital cameras and their electronic components were the feature of a smorgasbord of other patents that we came across. A couple of these protect techniques designed to increase the ease that image file data may be shared and edited by other cameras or external devices.

The patent applications published in recent weeks by the USPTO and assigned to Nikon include a couple of filings pertaining to camera accessories which we explored for today’s column. One of these accessories provides a continuous light for the better detection of light exposure conditions for a digital camera. Other patent applications are directed at improved configurations for interchangeable camera lenses and lens barrels. Another intriguing patent application discusses a method of displaying two-dimensional and three-dimensional images on the same screen without degrading the quality of either version. Nikon has enjoyed a fairly steady stream of patents issued by the USPTO in recent weeks, including a trio which we’ve shared with our readers that discuss novel improvements to digital image capture and camera devices. One of these patents protects a digital camera with enhanced capabilities for performing image editing functions directly on the camera. Another patent we’re sharing today protects a mount for interchangeable lenses which makes older generations of lenses compatible with newly-designed lens mounts.

A worldwide leader in the development of camcorders, cameras, photocopiers and other imaging and printing devices, Canon Inc. of Tokyo, Japan, is one of the most active developers of new intellectual properties in the world. Although this article published by Tom’s Guide erroneously reports it as patented, Canon has developed and filed a patent application recently for camera imaging technologies which can better recreate human skin tones in captured images…. Issued patents are the true measure of any company’s intellectual property strength, and Canon’s patenting activities are among the strongest of any corporation operating in today’s world. Digital camera innovations are protected in a couple of patents we explore, including a flash device camera accessory which offers a much longer service life than previous models. We noticed an interesting foray into the world of business documentation services, including one method for allowing multiple clients to interact with a document without being required to install a reader application.

As you might expect, a number of recently issued patents to Intel pertain to a series of novel computer improvements, which include but are not limited to (1) more efficient energy use in computing systems using multi-core processors, and (2) a system of aiding TCP-based communications when a processor enters sleep mode. Other issued patents show the widespread nature of Intel’s semiconductor technologies. In one patent the technology is used to improve security measures for video game servers to protect against cheaters or hackers who would manipulate the game environment. Interestingly, Intel also earned the right to protect a method of coating medical devices with biocompatible substances to reduce the risk of infection in patients. Another issued patent to Intel also improves security measures for mobile devices by allowing the device to determine a user is unauthorized based on local data.

Innovation has not been occurring at Qualcomm simply for the sake of innovation. Since 2010, Qualcomm’s quarterly sales have increased each year by 31 percent. On the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, Qualcomm is the third-fastest growing large technology company in America as of 2013. Other Qualcomm operations involve the medical industry, for which they’re developing a wireless monitoring system for children with asthma, and video gaming, as many in the industry believe Qualcomm and Amazon are working together to build a console.

On Friday, September 21, 2012, Canon, Inc. (NYSE: CAJ) was sued for patent infringement by Yama Capital, LLC, which is a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware.  The complaint, which alleges Canon infringes U.S. Patent No. 6,069,982 (“the ‘982 patent”) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The ‘982 patent was originally assigned to Polaroid. According to the complaint, Canon has known about the patent for at least 10 years and believes there is infringement based on certain statements contained in the Canon EOS System Summer 2012 brochure. Specifically, the complaint asserts: “Canon’s website boasts that its digital cameras include noise reduction that produces clear images when shooting in low light at high ISO speeds and advertises its infringing noise-reduction technology as a product differentiator.”

Eastman Kodak Company reported that it was continuing its march forward toward becoming a profitable and sustainable digital company. A sustainable digital company? In order to achieve this goal Kodak will need to better leverage its intellectual property portfolio. How will Kodak seek to generate cash from its intellectual property portfolio? The company is shifting gears and is pursuing a plan to sell 10% of it is patent portfolio to attempt to raise cash to remain in business.