What Companies Can Do to Protect Their IP Rights in Bankruptcy The Kodak case brought into sharp focus the treatment of intellectual property rights in bankruptcy. Inventor of the roll-film hand camera in 1888 and maker of the first digital camera, the iconic company licensed thousands of patents in its extensive patent portfolio, estimated at $4.5 billion. In 2012, Kodak filed bankruptcy and sold its assets—at apparent fire-sale prices—in bankruptcy court in New York. Sale of a patent portfolio of that size affects the rights of hundreds, if not thousands, […]