George Eastman - History of Kodak and Rolled Photographic Film

By Mary Bellis, About.com Guide

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George Eastman Names Kodak - The Patent Suits

George Eastman - History of Kodak and Rolled Photographic Film

Photograph Taken With Kodak Camera - Circa 1909

The letter "K" had been a favorite with me — it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with "K." - George Eastman on the naming of Kodak

Patent Suits

On April 26, 1976, one of the largest patent suits involving photography was filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. Polaroid Corporation, the assignee of numerous patents relating to instant photography, brought an action against Kodak Corporation for infringement of 12 Polaroid patents relating to instant photography. On October 11, 1985, after five years of vigorous pretrial activity and 75 days of trial, seven Polaroid patents were found to be valid and infringed. Kodak was out of the instant picture market leaving customers with useless cameras and no film. Kodak offered camera owners various compensation for their loss.