Google And Apple Joined Separate Alliances In Bidding For Kodak Patents

Apple and Google again competing against each other in bidding for a large collection of patents owned by a camera giant Kodak. The Wall Street Journal reports that two separate groups have formed in order to bid for the collection of patents owned by a Kodak that is currently in bankruptcy.

Microsoft, Apple and patent-aggregation company Intellectual Ventures have teamed up, while Samsung, LG, Google, RPC Corp and HTC have formed a second consortium.

The WSJ reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that discussion on bids could continue during the weekend, with new bidders entering the auction and alliances changing. WSJ reports:

“A bankruptcy court supervised auction of Kodak's patents is set for Aug. 8. The patents are being sold in two lots: the digital-capture portfolio related to capturing and processing images on cameras, smartphones and tablets; and the Kodak Imaging Systems and Services patents related to storing and analyzing images, among other things”.

Forming of two teams on the auction is unsurprising. Last year an alliance consisting of Microsoft, RIM, Apple, EMC, Sony and Ericsson bought 6,000 patents owned by Nortel, beating out a consortium that included Google and Intel. To bid for the Kodak’s patents, Google teamed up with HTC, Samsung and LG – three major manufacturers of Android handsets – along with patent aggregation company RPX Corp.

Kodak and Apple have filed many lawsuits against each other during the ongoing tech patent dispute.