Video recording giant Kodak, dubbed the Apple of its time, is strongly considering to file for bankruptcy in light of a steady decline in sales throughout its recent history. The almost century and a half old enterprise may be able to avoid that fate however if it succeeds in selling off some of its patents. It’s reported that the board believes it will be easier to pitch the company’s assets after making a filing, but contradicting reactions from potential buyers indicate to the contrary.

“A filing could come as soon as this month or early February,” reports The Wall Street Journal, citing a source familiar with the matter. “Kodak would continue to pay its bills and operate normally while under bankruptcy protection, the people said. But the company’s focus would then be the sale of some 1,100 patents through a court-supervised auction.”

At the very least, a bankruptcy would lift the burden of paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year in  payments to retired employees. There’s no word on what the outcome would be for the company’s current 19,000 workers.

Kodak shares declined 28 percent to 47 cents after news of its plans have been published. Investors have lost confidence in the former filming giant, which declined from its seat of power as a dominant player in its industry. In recent years Kodak has been focusing on fleshing out its printer business instead.

Smartphones were a big contributor to Kodak’s downfall, and to the market as a whole. Cisco, too, had had to make some tough calls with outdated camera technology, pulling the plug on its Flip business as smartphone cameras continue to improve.  It’s a topic that our Editor-in-Chief Mark Hopkins discussed in depth on GeekBeatTV, emphasizing the need for rapid adaptation in this particular market. And it seems Cisco’s still not done cleaning house. Earlier this week the networking giant halted the shipping of its umi videoconferencing set-top box.

Despite of the drastic change in demand, filmography is still around in the mobile era.

image credit: agne-d