Very little information is yet available as to precisely which patent claims each company feels their competitor is infringing upon, but early suggestions from a BBC News article are that Kodak's case in particular relates to broad-reaching patents related to central storage of images with online ordering capabilities. A separate article from US wire service All Headline News is more specific, stating that Kodak's claims involve patents for selecting photos from index prints, film scanning, and the rather cryptic " image handling method and system incorporating coded instructions". If the Kodak patents are as broadly applicable as the BBC article suggests, it's quite possible that the case could have far-reaching impact on other photo sharing services.

The Kodak suit was filed against Shutterfly on December 10, 2010 in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, and seeks "an injunction, damages, treble damages and costs, including attorney's fees and expenses," according to Shutterfly's SEC filing. The company goes on to state that it believes it has "meritorious defenses", and plans to defend the claims "vigorously." In return, the filing further notes that Shutterfly filed its own patent infringement complaint against Kodak on December 13, 2010, relating to the company's Kodak Gallery software. Shutterfly's case seeks similar restitution to the case launched by Kodak.