New York, NY and Rochester, NY--IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX) licensed from Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) certain exclusive rights in the digital cinema field to a portfolio of more than 50 patent families covering fundamental laser projection technology. IMAX also licensed from Kodak certain exclusive rights in the digital cinema field to a broader range of Kodak patents covering complementary technologies useful for laser projection products. While the agreement is royalty bearing to Kodak, the specific terms of the deal were not announced.
The announcement follows the September 2010 IMAX equity investment in Laser Light Engines (LLE), an initiative to develop technology that illuminates existing digital screens to IMAX standards. The Kodak technology is expected to extend these efforts and allow the illumination of IMAX 80-to-100-foot screens and domes with a brightness and clarity not currently attainable in these formats. The solution will also consume less power, last longer, and have a wider color gamut when compared with existing technology.
"This Kodak intellectual property is truly cutting edge, and will be used by IMAX's esteemed Technology Group to enhance the cinematic experience for consumers, enable the application of digital technology in our larger and institutional theatres, and make being in business with IMAX even easier and more profitable," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond.
IMAX expects to introduce the new laser-projection technology by the second half of 2013 and that it will provide the company's largest screen and dome customers--which have previously only had access to analog film--with a full array of digital content, which often includes Hollywood's biggest IMAX titles. Kodak engineers will work closely with IMAX engineers over the next 18 months to assist with the implementation of the technology into the IMAX product family.
"We are delighted to be licensing our technology to a company as innovative as IMAX," said Kim Snyder, president, Entertainment Imaging, and VP, Eastman Kodak Company. "Because this technology produces the deepest blacks, and the brightest 3D of any system demonstrated to date, it will truly make the movies more exciting for consumers, and that creates a strong value proposition for the studios and exhibitors as well."
SOURCE: Kodak; www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/IMAX_Licenses_Exclusive_Right_to_Kodak_39_s_Next-Generation_Laser_Projection_Technology.htm