Polaroid Versus Fujifilm – How a Court Case Could Change Instant Images Without end

by

David Schloss

posted Wednesday, August 27, 2025 at 3:11 PM EDT

If you’re a fan of immediate movie pictures, an almost decade-old authorized feud between Panasonic and Fujifilm could reshape (actually) the movie some immediate cameras use. And these adjustments may probably require an overhaul of Fujifilm’s Instax merchandise.

Polaroid vs. Fujifilm – How Did We Get Here

The form of Polaroid movie is just not solely iconic, nevertheless it’s additionally the protected mental property (IP) of Polaroid. You can consider Intellectual Property. The form of the movie and the white border round it are known as the “classic border logo” or CBL.

A sheet of Polaroid movie, shaken or not, is straight away recognizable. The white borders alongside the sting and a thicker border on the backside are quintessentially Polaroid. Or is it?

In 2017, Polaroid initiated legal action towards what it stated had been intentional similarities between Polaroid’s protected CBL and Fujifilm’s personal Instax immediate movie.

Fujifilm didn’t cease manufacturing of their very own sq. movie format, and Polaroid took them to court docket in an try and cease Fujifilm from utilizing a equally formed movie. Polaroid even contended that the packaging for Fujifilm’s Instax lineup was designed to confuse clients.

An fascinating twist on this case is that Polaroid ceased manufacturing of movie in 2008, and the unique Polaroid now not exists. In 2008, the Dutch trio of Florian Kaps, André Bosman, and Marwan Saba launched the Impossible Project, buying greater than $3 million of Polaroid gear and taking up their headquarters within the Netherlands.

In 2017, Impossible Project’s largest shareholder acquired all of Polaroid’s unique mental property and your complete model. Within a yr, the corporate reverted to the Polaroid identify.

You might even see the place that is headed. The newly revitalized Polaroid has renewed its authorized efforts towards Fujifilm, and the authorized battle has continued since 2017, with no conclusion in sight.

Today, Judge Naomi Reich Buchwald of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York present in favor of Polaroid’s declare that the 2 movie strains had been so comparable {that a} shopper may not have the ability to inform them aside.

Judge Buchwald’s order says, “given the volume and variety of this evidence, which includes customer support emails, Twitter and Instagram posts, and other online inquiries, Polaroid has sufficiently raised a genuine issue of material fact with respect to the existence of actual confusion.”

As reported by Petapixel back in 2017, Polaroid is demanding tens of millions of {dollars} per yr for the infringement on its IP.

And now it heads again to court docket.

Polaroid vs. Fujifilm – Are Consumers Really Confused?

 

I’m not a authorized professional, however I’m aware of sizes and shapes, and even I can’t inform the movie aside.

I created these two pictures from product pages and forgot which of them had been which whereas enhancing in Photoshop. I needed to evaluation the unique screenshots to substantiate.

Additionally, Fujifilm faces challenges attributable to Google and Amazon displaying its merchandise when customers seek for “Polaroid Film.” The Fujifilm outcomes are sponsored, nevertheless it seems to me (once more, I’m not a lawyer) that Fujifilm is no less than subtly attempting to seem much like Polaroid.

 

So, What Happens if Polaroid Wins

In the unique case, Polaroid sought royalty funds of tens of millions of {dollars} per yr for the infringement of its model. Should they win and get the damages they’re in search of, this may very well be a staggering sum of money. Fujifilm continued to supply its movie for the reason that begin of the lawsuit in 2017, and any damages must keep in mind the continued gross sales.

There are a number of doable outcomes.

The first is that both Fujifilm prevails within the court docket case or manages to get the case dismissed. The dismissal appears extremely unlikely, because the court docket beforehand denied what is named a abstract judgment. This is a request from one of many events for the choose to rule on dismissing the case with out requiring a trial.

If Panasonic wins, it is going to undoubtedly be awarded damages for infringing on Polaroid’s Intellectual Property rights. How a lot these could be is unclear, however they’d take a dent out of Fujifilm’s Instax income.

To keep away from penalties or to proceed producing Instax movie in its present type, the corporate may think about a licensing settlement with Polaroid.

It may also be pressured to cease making movies that appear to be Polaroids. If they will’t provide you with a licensing deal, an opposed ruling would definitely imply Fujifilm must look considerably totally different from Polaroid movie. I’m unsure how immediate movies may look all that totally different, so it must be some radical change.

Could this be what Instax movie has to appear to be sooner or later? 

A brand new movie would imply new digicam gross sales (good for Fujifilm), but in addition offended clients who purchased Fujifilm cameras and might now not get movie (horrible for Fujifilm). It may additionally result in a category motion lawsuit on behalf of people that bought Fujifilm cameras, despite the fact that the corporate was conscious it was being sued for IP violations.

In any case, the moment digicam market is poised for a shakeup of some sort. It’s laborious to foretell what a post-lawsuit market could appear to be, nevertheless it will not resemble the marketplace for Fujifilm and Polaroid’s movies as intently.

Best Instant Cameras on the Market Right Now

If you’re fascinated about selecting up an immediate movie digicam, we’ve bought you lined. Our purchaser’s information rounds up the very best immediate cameras out there proper now — not simply from Fujifilm and Polaroid, however throughout all main manufacturers. Every suggestion has been hand-tested and vetted by the Imaging Resource workforce, so that you might be positive solely the top-performing fashions made the reduce.