Apple renews exclusive Liquidmetal license through 2016

Liquid Metal

Apple has renewed its rights to use Liquidmetal Technologies’ unique metal alloys in its products, according to a new SEC filing. As noted by MacRumors, a document was submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today that extends the two companies’ agreement.

The filing shows that Apple and Liquidmetal entered the new deal on June 17, and it’s set to expire on February 5, 2016. The extension marks the third amendment the two firms have made to their contract, which includes exclusive rights to materials, since it was drawn up in 2010.

But despite having exclusive access to Liquidmetal’s alloys, Apple has yet to use the material on a large scale within its products. There’s talk it may be using it for internal components, but its most prominent consumer-facing use thus far has been an iPhone SIM card ejector tool.

That’s not to say we won’t see it in future products, though. Liquidmetal offers up various unique properties: it’s very strong, lightweight, and able to cast in several forms. And Apple has a number of patents involving the material, so it’s obviously still a major area of interest to them.

Source: SEC via MacRumors