Photography giant Kodak has launched lawsuits against Apple and Research In Motion (RIM) after alleging that both the iPhone and BlackBerry (made by RIM) infringe its patents. Kodak announced today that they have filed a case against RIM and two against Apple claiming the pair had been using patented technology. The lawsuit comes after news that Kodak are set to cut up to 4,500 jobs amid plummeting camera sales and mounting losses.

The patent in question revolves around how previews of images taken with a digital camera are displayed. The additional Apple case concerns the interaction between a camera and a computer. Kodak are of course trying to play the good guy in all of this claiming that rather than attempting to block sales of the iPhone and BlackBerry range, they are simply seeking fair compensation for use of patents they hold and feel are being used by the accused.

Laura Quatela, chief intellectual property office of Eastman Kodak, stated “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. In light of that, we are taking this action to ensure that we protect the interests of our shareholders and the existing licensees of our technology… Those devices use Kodak technology, and we are merely seeking compensation for the use of our technology in their products.”

Kodak do have previous experience in this field having recently won a case against Samsung for infringements by the Korean manufacturer’s mobile phones. And, with lawsuits already launched by Nokia against Apple for what the Finnish manufacturer claim are several patent infringements, 2010 looks set to be another busy year for the Apple legal team.