[LRflex] Re: How will this affect Film Shooters? Leica?
- From: Richard Ward <ilovaussiesheps@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <leicareflex@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2011 14:26:51 -0400
Good points all David, but there is a big money resource out there which, in
theory, could tide kodak thru to an orderly downsizing: The Kodak Patent
Portfolio.
There are massive billion dollar patent fights in progress right now over smart
phones and ipad like tablets - not to mention the software and operating
systems for them.
(and those lovely patent trolls extracting money from companies on flimsy
patent claims)
Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc etc are collecting patent portfolios for
defending, preventing, and making lawsuit claims.
Kodak's Patent File Cabinet could be worth Billions to these megacorps just on
speculation of helping their lawsuit situations.
The hiccup for Kodak is the (real or imagined) Bankruptcy Potential floating
over the negotiations. The whole bruhaha in the media might have simply come
from a suitor who was grumpy about kodak using bankruptcy as a negotiating tool
or a suitor wanted the bruhaha to force kodak into a lower price to avoid
bankruptcy.
Richard in Michigan
_____________________________________
I don't know! I don't know why I did it, I don't know why I enjoyed it, and I
don't know why I'll do it again!
Bart Simpson
_____________________________________
On Oct 6, 2011, at 12:58 PM, David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> On Oct 6, 2011, at 2:20 AM, David Young wrote:
>>> Richard, Douglas & all:
>>>
>>> I've had it on good authority, for some months, that Kodak's Chip
>>> Division was to be sold.
>>>
>>
>> That is very good to hear David!
>> Makes perfect sense in retrospect that a free standing division
>> such as a chipmaking operation would be on the market to raise cash
>> - it's a fairly clean deal to pull off.
>
> My understanding was that Kodak has a huge amount of debt, coming due, I
> believe, this November. It was expected that the sensor division be sold
> off,
> to raise cash for that. It now seems that they need rather more cash than
> the
> sensor division might bring.
>
> If they're still making money on film, and losing it just as a fast on
> digital,
> then selling off their huge portfolio of digital patents perhaps makes sense,
> although the demise of film as a profit center is bound to come, eventually!
>
> I've always maintained that film will no more disappear than have vacuum
> tubes.
>
> In the case of tubes (valves to those in the UK) factories were sold, lock,
> stock and barrel to entrepreneurs in "third world" countries, where land is
> cheap and production costs low. Thus, while the brands have changed, you
> can
> still buy just about any tube ever made, though you may have to look in the
> big
> cities to find them.
>
> I still foresee film going the same way (remember ORWO?), though it may be
> Kodak that moves the production lines and restarts elsewhere!
>
> Personally,I'd have rather seen Kodak become a niche maker of specialized
> sensors (at a profit) and let film go... but that's only because I've been a
> loyal "Kodak man" for all these years and I'd like to see them successfully
> transition in to the digital age. It seems as if that is not to be.
>
> David.
>
>
> ------
> Unsubscribe or change to/from Digest Mode at:
> http://www.lrflex.furnfeather.net/
> Archives are at:
> //www.freelists.org/archives/leicareflex/
------
Unsubscribe or change to/from Digest Mode at:
http://www.lrflex.furnfeather.net/
Archives are at:
//www.freelists.org/archives/leicareflex/
Other related posts:
