Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/19/apple_extends_liquidmetal_exclusivity_until_2014/
Apple extends Liquidmetal sole rights until 2014
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Posted in Phones, 19th June 2012 11:39 GMT
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Apple has secured exclusive rights to Liquidmetal Technologies' IP, extending sole access to the company's unique metal until February 2014.
The original $20m agreement expired in February 2012. However, a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [1] shows the date has been extended by two more years.
Liquidmetal is an alloy that is strong and resistant to corrosion and scratches, and has a similar moulding ability to that of thermoplastics.
Inventor of the alloy, Dr Atakan Peker, last month told Business Insider that it would cost Apple between $300m and $500m [2] and three or more years of work to develop a product based on Liquidmetal tech.
So far, Apple has only used Liquidmetal in the Sim card ejector tool [3] for the iPhone 3G.
Peker reckons that kind of doohickey will be where Apple uses Liquidmetal in future: "I think it's unlikely that Liquidmetal casing will be used in [laptop or phone casings] in the near term. It's more likely in the form of small component such as a hinge or bracket," he said. ®