Apple and Google are setting their ongoing patent disputes aside to join forces and bid more than $500 million on some of Kodak’s 1,100 imaging patents.

After the 132-year-old Eastman Kodak company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, it sought to shrink its business, including selling off some of its assets. Some of the patents for sale include those for the capture, manipulation and sharing of digital images—rights that could prove extremely valuable to tech giants.

Kodak’s digital imaging patents are estimated to be worth more than $2 billion, according to court documents. But IPO Offerings Richard Ehrlickman told Bloomberg the portfolio is actually worth far less because it has been so widely licensed. According to Bloomberg, Apple and Google are teaming to neutralize potential infringement litigation.

“They have decided to come together in the process to reduce the cost of purchasing Kodak’s patents, while meeting their business needs,” Ehrlickman, former vice president of Intellectual Property at International Business Machines Corp. and president of IP Offerings, a patent brokerage and consulting company in Boca Raton, Fla., told Bloomberg.

Apple and Google are currently engaged in an ongoing legal battle over patents between Apple and Google-purchased Motorola. Ironically, before filing Chapter 11, Kodak was engaged in a series of lawsuits over alleged patent infringement against Apple, among others.

Under the terms of a $793 million loan extended to Kodak, the patent portfolio cannot be sold for less than $500 million. The pricy requirement offers another reason for the rivals to team up, as jointly they would be able to offer a higher bid than in separate ventures.

[Image via DragonFlyEye/Flickr]