In a Thursday announcement, the camera bigwig Eastman Kodak said that it has filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple as well as Research in Motion (RIM), for allegedly contravening its patented digital imaging technology.

As per the Kodak complaint, filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the Apple iPhone and some of the BlackBerry smartphones make use of its patented technique of previewing camera phone images.

Via the lawsuit, Kodak is also seeking the exclusion of some phones equipped with digital cameras from import, till the time the company works out a fair system of reimbursement with Apple and RIM.

Noting that Kodak had resorted to the legal route against Apple and RIM to ensure that the interests of its shareholders and the current licensees of the technology are protected, Laura Quatela, chief intellectual property officer at Kodak, said: “We’ve had discussions for years with both companies in an attempt to resolve this issue amicably, and we have not been able to reach a satisfactory agreement.”

Further adding that Kodak is presently licensing out use of its digital imaging preview technology to tech biggies like Motorola, Nokia and Samsung, Quatela said that the “fairness” is the ‘basic issue’ that Kodak wants to be addressed through the case against Apple and RIM, by seeking a “compensation” for the use of the company’s patented technology.