Apple and Liquidmetal Technologies Extend Intellectual Property Agreement Until 2014

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing made today, Liquidmetal Technologies announced that it has extended its agreement with Apple to effectively license its ongoing intellectual property development for an additional two years.

The agreement, which is funneled through a subsidiary known as Crucible Intellectual Property, LLC, provides Apple with a full license to all of Liquidmetal's intellectual property for commercialization in consumer electronics. The original deal required that Liquidmetal submit all of its intellectual property discoveries to the subsidiary through February 5, 2012, but the new amendment effective as of last Friday extends the agreement through February 5, 2014.

Under the MTA [Master Transaction Agreement], the Company was originally obligated to contribute to Crucible Intellectual Property, LLC, a special purpose subsidiary of the Company, all intellectual property acquired or developed by the Company through February 5, 2012, and all intellectual property held by Crucible Intellectual Property, LLC is exclusively licensed on a perpetual basis to Apple for the field of use of consumer electronic products under the MTA. Under the Amendment, the parties agreed to amend the MTA to extend the February 5, 2012 date to February 5, 2014.

The foregoing does not purport to be a complete description of the Amendment and is qualified by reference to the full text of such agreement, which will be filed with the Company’s next Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

liquidmetal alloy
Apple acquired the rights to Liquidmetal's amorphous metal alloys in August 2010 after having tested the material in the iPhone 3G SIM eject tool. But broader use of Liquidmetal's alloys, which offer improvements in strength and durability over current alloys while proving easy to cast into complex shapes, is likely several years off.

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Top Rated Comments

So Random Avatar
175 months ago
Nothing to see here, it's just Apple blocking others in the market from innovating further.

Others had Apple's opportunities.

They didn't bother taking them.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DavidTheExpert Avatar
175 months ago
Terminator 2.... I hope future iPhones will shatter into a bunch of droplets when you drop them, and then reform themselves when the pieces mold back together.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jobsian Avatar
175 months ago
Where is my Liquidmetal Mac/iDevice?
Image (http://cdn.superbwallpapers.com/wallpapers/meme/shut-up-and-take-my-money-9299-400x250.jpg)
lol I love how this image has devolved from being well-liked to becoming possibly the biggest downvote magnet on this site
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac365 Avatar
175 months ago
I hate to tell you this, however, it is. The glass in your windows is also liquid.

Glass is not a liquid or a solid, it is an amorphous non-crystalline solid.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Giuly Avatar
175 months ago
iPhone SIM Eject Tool - the most advanced of its kind, yet. :rolleyes:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
175 months ago
I hate to tell you this, however, it is. The glass in your windows is also liquid.

Amorphous.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)