A federal jury in New York has dealt a legal blow to Sun Microsystems Inc., ruling that Sun violated several patents held by Eastman Kodak Co. when it developed its Java technology, a Kodak spokeswoman confirmed today.

The decision, made in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, could prove costly for Sun when the jury reconvenes to determine damages this week.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Kodak has indicated that it will ask Sun for $1.06 billion in lump-sum royalties, according to a local news report.

Kodak initially sued Sun in 2002, claiming that during Sun's development of its Java programming language, the company violated three patents issued in the mid-1990s. Kodak acquired the patents related to object technologies from Wang Laboratories Inc. in 1997.

Sun originally dismissed the claims as being without merit.