Apple and Google have joined rival investor groups hoping to nab Kodak's patent portfolio. The groups are offering warm-up bids of between $150-$250 million, reports "The Register" (http://macte.ch/Cgu28).

Kodak plans to sell its patents as part of a bankruptcy reorganization in New York. However, Apple claims it owns 10 of the patents in Kodak’s portfolio.

Apple sued Kodak in April 2010, about three months after Kodak accused Apple and Research In Motion of infringing a patent related to ways of previewing images. Apple's countersuit said Kodak devices copy the technology that it uses in Macs, iPhone, iTunes and Photo Booth involving image processing, energy management and memory design.