Another key moment arrives in Kodak's patent fight

Eastman Kodak is awaiting a high-stakes patent dispute decision regarding smartphone technology used by Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd. And company shares are spiking.

The U.S. International Trade Commission will decide Friday whether to review a judge's finding in January that Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry don't violate a Kodak patent obtained in 2001.

A favorable decision could mean royalty deals worth as much as $1 billion or more. The agency's six commissioners would then decide by May 23 whether to alter the initial determination by its chief administrative judge.

Kodak has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents, and almost all digital cameras rely on that technology.

Shares of Eastman Kodak Co. jumped 34 cents, or 10.7 percent, to $3.47 in trading.