Justice Department Decision Frees Kodak

After a 2-1/2-year battle with the federal government, Eastman Kodak Co. is finally free of decades-old legal shackles designed to keep it from monopolizing the U.S. photographic market.

The Justice Department said Tuesday it will not seek a Supreme Court appeal of a federal ruling that set aside 1921 and 1954 consent decrees aimed at restraining Kodak’s marketing practices.

The orders prohibited Kodak from making “private label” film and including photofinishing costs in film prices.