NEW YORK — Eastman Kodak, the bankrupt photography pioneer selling digital-imaging patents, says that 20 parties signed agreements to view confidential information and access an electronic-data room ahead of potential bids.

Kodak has filed a motion in US Bankruptcy Court seeking approval of an auction process that would keep secret all bidder names and the amounts offered, according to a company statement. That may lead to the announcement of a winner on Aug. 13.

Kodak is selling more than 1,100 patents to help shrink the company’s focus to printing rather than photography. Its two patent portfolios, one containing digital-capture patents and the other imaging systems and services, may be Kodak’s most valuable assets.

The patent technology is valued at $2.21 billion to $2.57 billion, based on an estimate by 284 Partners, a patent advisory firm cited in a debtor’s motion filed before a US bankruptcy court in January.