Photo Corners headlinesarchivemikepasini.com


A   S C R A P B O O K   O F   S O L U T I O N S   F O R   T H E   P H O T O G R A P H E R

Reviews of photography products that enhance the enjoyment of taking pictures. Published frequently but irregularly.

Nikon Sues Sakar Over Polaroid iM1836 Share This on LinkedIn   Share This on Google   Tweet This   Forward This

15 October 2013

Nikon has sued Sakar International "for the alleged infringement of the design patent and trade dress right owned by Nikon" related to the $367 Nikon 1 and Sakar's $299 Polaroid-brand iM1836. The company claimed it had negotiated with Sakar "to amicably solve this problem" before filing the suit.

Sakar describes its $299 Android Polaroid iM1836, which is the subject of the suit for its resemblance to the Nikon 1 J1, as:

The Polaroid iM1836 is the first camera from Polaroid to pair interchangeable lens options like those previously found only on dSLR cameras with the intuitive Android operating system. Lightweight and portable, it's a great option for capturing professional quality images and 1080p HD video on the go. Its built-in peer-to-peer Wi-Fi and easy-to-use Polaroid photo sharing apps allow users to immediately upload and share their images via social media. Built into a compact 4/3 body with a sleek matte white finish, the iM1836 features a brilliant 3.5" touch screen LCD display to help capture the perfect image every time. In addition, the camera also features Google Play, providing consumers access to over 600,000 apps, movies, music, books and more.

The iM1836 uses an 18-Mp CMOS sensor, which is located in the lens, while the J1 uses a body-based 12-Mp CMOS sensor. The Verge's Jeff Blagdon found the iM1836 "an interesting approach" but, after playing with pre-production units at CES earlier this year concluded, "Anyone who is looking to buy a camera to take photographs of any kind should avoid the iM1836 at all costs."

Nikon's statement follows.

Nikon filed a lawsuit in the U.S. for design patent and trade dress infringement

Nikon Corp. (having its principal place of business in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Makoto Kimura) and Nikon Inc. (having its principal place of business in New York, President & CEO: Nobuyoshi Gokyu) (collectively, hereafter referred to as "Nikon") filed a lawsuit with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Sakar International, Inc. (having its principal place of business in New Jersey) (hereafter referred to as "Sakar") for the alleged infringement of the design patent and trade dress right owned by Nikon. Nikon seeks injunctive relief against Sakar in the lawsuit to prevent them from manufacturing and selling their Polaroid brand digital still camera, "Polaroid iM1836".

Nikon makes a great effort to create designs that can be differentiated from other companies' products, as well as to strongly deter the imitation of its designs. Although Nikon has negotiated with Sakar to amicably solve this problem, we could not reach an agreement. Consequently, Nikon decided to initiate the lawsuit by necessity.

The abovementioned design patent and trade dress right are related to the Advanced Camera with Interchangeable Lenses "Nikon 1".


BackBack to Photo Corners