Kodak says Apple is trying to devalue the worth of its patents so that it can buy them for less than their worth (which the company estimates at US$2.6 billion), reports “Total Telecom” (http://macte.ch/uwlqc).

Kodak says it plans to seek approval of its patent auction timeline “in the near future.” The company is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan to pave the way for that sale by ruling that Apple has no interest in 10 specific patents among those Kodak is looking to sell, notes “Total Telecom.”

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.