Kodak is soon on the verge of becoming ‘Ancient.’ At one point there was no competitor in the Digital Photography space and we proudly flaunted the camera brand. But today Kodak is facing rough times. The Company is reportedly preparing for Bankruptcy.  Eastman Kodak will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The 131 year old Company is trying to make last efforts to sell its collection of digital patents, according to a report to avoid Chapter 11.

But the Company is also making preparations for a filing for Bankruptcy in case those efforts fail, Kodak is talking to banks for around $1 billion in financing to support itself during bankruptcy proceedings.

The filing could be expected this month or early February, according to sources. But the company will also parallely be focusing on the sale of some 1,100 patents through a court-supervised auction, according to WSJ report.

The Company which holds the credit of inventing world’s first digital camera in 1975 could not manage to act on the consumer trends. Some of the new businesses including consumer and commercial printersstarted by Kodak in the 1980s and 1990s also weren’t successful in generating cash as there were many competitors in the market who lowered their film prices and introduced digital cameras.

Kodak did bounce back in 2005 and was ranked number one in the U.S. in digital camera sales but the margins weren’t nearly as profitable as those for film and Kodak CEO Antonio Perez started to position Kodak as a leader in digital photo sharing and printing, both of which have also proven to be challenging segments.

However it was in 2011 that the company's problems came to a head, as Mr. Perez's strategy of using patent lawsuits and licensing deals didn’t work out for the Company. Also with consumers using the cameras in their smartphones, the standalone camera seemed unnecessary.