Kodak Shares Plunge as ITC Delays Patent Win Against Apple, RIM

The U.S. International Trade Commission has not given Eastman Kodak (NYSE:EK) an easy win in its patent battle against Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), forcing the company to wait until at least August 30 while it reviews the case.

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company hopes to extract $1 billion in licensing fees from Apple and RIM in the ITC case, but the trade panel has already delayed the ruling once and on Thursday sent it back to the administrative law judge for review.

Kodak, which claims the iPhone and BlackBerry infringe on its image-preview technology, saw its shares plunge 16% Friday morning on the news.

The decision by the ITC is an issue for Kodak, which intended to use proceeds from the win to fund new businesses.

The six-member ITC was reviewing Kodak's appeal of a January decision by a law judge who claimed the iPhone and BlackBerry do not violate Kodak's patent. On Thursday, the ITC claimed the iPhone3GS and iPhone 4 don't literally infringe the patent when they are in non-flash modes.

The maker of imaging technology called the ruling favorable, saying it was gratified the ITC modified in its favor the judges initial recommendation and agreed that some elements of the patent regarding color and image capture had been infringed.

Kodak initially filed an ITC complaint against Apple and RIM in January of last year.