Kodak, once one of the biggest names in photography, has gained approval to come out of bankruptcy as a smaller digital imaging company.
Eastman Kodak was founded in New York in 1892 and pioneered the use of film in cameras.
US bankruptcy judge Allan Gropper agreed to the company’s plans, meaning it should be back trading in a few weeks.
With the mass demand for film killed, Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection last year as digital photography became increasingly popular.
Since then, the company has sold off a number of its business and patents. It now plans to specialise in printing.
Kodak’s legal representative, Andrew Dietderich, told the court the company bore little resemblance to its former self: "Kodak is a different company that the one in the popular imagination and very different from the one that filed for bankruptcy.”
The majority of shareholders approved the bankruptcy plan but some former employees objected to it.
Creditors are only expected to get back some 5% of the money they are owed, with shareholders coming last in the queue.
Earlier this year, Kodak secured a deal to sell its film and printing businesses to its UK pension fund for £419m.
