Apple has extended its deal with Liquidmetal for two more years. The deal, which originally ended on February 5, 2012, now has been extended to February 5, 2014 and will give the Cupertino tech giant exclusive rights to use the unique metal in all its upcoming products slated to be released in next two years.
The SEC document, that was originally filed on Friday and announced on Monday, is an extension to a Master Transaction Agreement (MTA) that Apple and Liquidmetal entered in August of 2010. As per the terms of the initial MTA, Apple contributed $20 million to Liquidmetal subsidiary Crucible Intellectual Property, LLC, and earned the exclusive perpetual rights to any IP created or acquired by Liquidmetal for use in the iPad maker's products.
According to the latest SEC filing, "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."
It further adds, "Under the Amendment, the parties agreed to amend the MTA to extend the February 5, 2012 date to February 5, 2014."
In recent times, rumors are rife that the next generation iPhone will feature Liquidmetal chassis. But according to Apple Insider, a Liquidmetal-sporting next-generation iPhone is not in the cards in 2012 but Apple enthusiasts can expect any other product debuting in next two years made out of the unique metal.
Liquidmetal inventor Dr. Atakan Peker said in May that to make iPhone 5 with liquidmetal, Apple has to pay $300-$500 million dollars and needs to devote at least three years to ready the metal for mass production, reported AppleInsider.
Liquidmetal is a super-strong metal alloy of zirconium, titanium, nickel, copper and so forth having an outer surface smooth like liquid.
