Apple continues its search to find the best materials for its consumer products. Last week Apple signed an exclusive agreement with LiquidMetal, a company specializing in metal materials, to use its technology for the upcoming Apple products. Below you can find part of the agreement.
On August 5, 2010, Liquidmetal Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Liquidmetal”), entered into a Master Transaction Agreement with Apple Inc., a California corporation (“Apple”), pursuant to which (i) Liquidmetal contributed substantially all of its intellectual property assets to a newly organized special-purpose, wholly-owned subsidiary (the “IP Company”), (ii) the IP Company granted to Apple a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in the field of consumer electronic products in exchange for a license fee, and (iii) the IP Company granted back to Liquidmetal a perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in all other fields of use (together with all ancillary agreements, the “Master Transaction Agreement”).
In order for Apple to sign such an agreement, the Cupertino company should already tested the materials and found that they work for its products. Rumors this week suggested that the next generation iPhone (rumored for early next year on Verizon network) will come with a metal back instead of the glass found on iPhone 4.
Liquidmetal alloys represent the first enabling materials technology since the creation of thermoplastics and possess characteristics that make them superior in many ways to other commercially-viable materials. First, they have an “amorphous” atomic structure, which is unprecedented for structural metals. Second, they include a multi-component chemical composition, which can be optimized for various properties and processes. Finally, they lend themselves to process technology similar to that possessed by plastics. The video below demonstrates some of the capabilities of LiquidMetal’s material.
