The jury, which decided in favour of Kodak on Friday, will this week consider how much of the $1.06 billion in damages and unpaid royalties claimed by the photography company should actually be paid.
Kodak sued Sun in the US District Court for the Western District of New York in February 2002, alleging that Java infringes on three patents governing, in general terms, the way that different programs and different types of data interact. It argued that Java works in the same sort of way, and on Friday, after a three-week trial, the trial jury agreed.
"We believe we have strong grounds for appeal," May Petry, a Sun spokeswoman, told the LA Times. Her company has also argued that the figure for damages and unpaid royalties claimed by Kodak should be closer to $25 million.
The case is being viewed by some commentators as an example of all that is wrong with the patenting of software, allowing companies to take advantage of broad software patents in order to enhance their revenue stream, but at the risk of stifling competition and industry innovation.
