Kodak received two bids from investor groups ahead of an auction set for 08 August, people familiar with the process told the Wall Street Journal. The bids were worth around USD 150-250 million, well below what Kodak's hopes to raise through the sale, the people said. Kodak is selling 1,100 patents in two lots. One portfolio relates to capturing and processing images on cameras, smartphones and tablets, and the other is tied to storing and analyzing images, among other things. A winner is to be selected 13 August. In the auction, Apple has teamed up with Microsoft and patent aggregation firm Intellectual Ventures Management to make one of the first bids, the report said. The other bid came from a Google consortium that includes patent aggregation firm RPX and three Android manufacturers - Samsung, LG and HTC.
