Updating: AMAZON.COM, CARFINCO FINANCIAL GROUP, and IMPERIAL METALS.

Article Excerpt

AMAZON.COM $268.93 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 453.0 million; Market cap: $121.8 billion; No dividends paid) and ADOBE SYSTEMS $37.88 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 495.1 million; Market cap: $18.8 billion; No dividends paid) are part of a 12-company consortium that is buying bankrupt Eastman Kodak’s 1,100 digital-imaging patents for $525 million U.S. Other members of the consortium include Apple, Google, Samsung, Research in Motion, Microsoft, China’s Huawei, Facebook and Fujifilm. Under the deal, each of the 12 companies in the consortium will pay a portion of the total cost and then have access to all the patents. Patents are increasingly important to technology firms like Amazon.com and Adobe because they let them protect their market shares from rivals. Owning a large number of patents can also help established leaders keep out new competition. What’s more, a large patent portfolio gives technology firms more ways to fight patentinfringement lawsuits…