Liquidmetal Technologies Inc (LQMT)

[PatentGuy1]

why couldn't you consider the shell of an electric computerized vehicle a consumer electronic?

Apple agreed to the definition of a "consumer electronic product" in the MTA between Apple and LQMT. A consumer electronic product has to satisfy one or more of the six elements of the definition below. You need to determine if the vehicle's shell or the vehile itself matches the definition.

The MTA agreement says:

Quote:“"Consumer Electronic Products" means
personal computers (portable and desktop);
tablet or slate style computing devices;
handheld electronic and/or communication devices (e.g., smartphones, digital music players, multi-function devices, etc.);
any device whose function includes the creation, storage or consumption of digital media;
any component or sub-component in any Consumer Electronic Product; and
any accessory that is the same or similar (in Apple's sole discretion) to an accessory made or sold by or on behalf of Apple (regardless of when Apple sold or started to sell such accessory, including after the Closing Date) that is suitable for use with any Consumer Electronic Product."



Comparing each defined element one-by-one to a vehicle's shell and the entire vehicle:
1) "personal computers (portable and desktop" - neither the shell nor the entire vehicle seem to satisfy this element
2) "tablet or slate style computing devices" - neither the shell nor the entire vehicle seem to satisfy this element
3) "handheld electronic and/or communication devices (e.g., smartphones, digital music players, multi-function devices, etc.)" - neither the shell nor the entire vehicle seem to satisfy this element
4) "any device whose function includes the creation, storage or consumption of digital media" - neither the shell nor the entire vehicle seem to satisfy this element. (However, it should be noted that sub-components of the entire vehicle, e.g., passenger entertainment system, may satisfy this element.)
5) "any component or sub-component in any Consumer Electronic Product" - (This one is harder to analyze because of circular definition, i.e., a "Consumer Electronic Product means ... any component or sub-component in any Consumer Electronic Product.") However, the vehicle's shell has not satisfied any of the above elements (nor the element below) for Consumer Electronic Product, and therefore, the shell itself is not a component of a Consumer Electronic Product. However, if the car itself is considered a Consumer Electronic Product because the passenger entertainment system satisfies element 4 above, then the shell would be considered a component or sub-component.
6) "any accessory that is the same or similar (in the sole discretion of Apple, Inc.) to an accessory made or sold by or on behalf of Apple (regardless of when Apple sold or started to sell such accessory, including after date of the closing of the Proposed Transaction) that is suitable for use with any Consumer Electronic Product" - neither the shell nor the entire vehicle seem to satisfy this element

For the reasons given above, a vehicle's shell doesn't seem to satisfy any of the above elements for a consumer electronic product.

IMHO, it is unlikely that a court would agree that the vehicle itself satisfies element 4, i.e., the function of the vehicle itself is "the creation, storage or consumption of digital media." Further IMHO, without finding that the vehicle itself satisfies element 4, the shell cannot satisfy element 5 because of the circular definition.

Looking at a "case of a phone," the phone itself satisfies a element 3 ("handheld electronic and/or communication devices (e.g., smartphones"), and the case satisfies element 5 ("any component or sub-component in any Consumer Electronic Product").