California – Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has filed a patent application for a fuel cell system that could power a MacBook or an iPhone “for days or even weeks without refueling”. With batteries dying fast around the world the technology industry hasn’t been able to solve the problem entirely. But now the bitten fruit company has given the first step into what seems to be the cutting edge generation of battery design.
After the U.K based company, Intelligent Energy revealed an iPhone version packed with a prototype hydrogen fuel cell that would last for a week before needing to be charged, rumors began to resonate about close colaboration with Apple to include such technologies in their own products. And as it turns out, the patent presented by Apple in March confirms exactly that. However, this controversial fuel cells will need to be replaced once they have depleted.
“Hydrogen fuel cells have a number of advantages. However, it is extremely challenging to design hydrogen fuel cell systems which are sufficiently portable and cost-effective to be used with portable electronic devices” the company writes.
It is important to note that Apple files thousands of patents a year, 2.003 in 2014, many of which never make into actual products. The company patented similar technology in 2011 and has not yet implemented the fuel cell system in any devices. The majority of those patents are done to stop competing companies from getting their hands on certain ideas, and it certainly does not mean in any way the existence of technology ready for release.
Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Patents need to expire within a year or two and not be renewable without significant advancement of the technology if a company or individual has not made progress toward producing a product.
The filing of patents to keep “the other guy” from running with it is a drag on innovation and society in general.
How long did we have to WAIT for some of apple’s patents to expire before other companies could use them? TOO LONG.
This nonsense needs to stop. Changing this will NOT stop innovation nor will it stop investment….if anything it will speed it up!
I don’t want to wait for the latest greatest idea just because it does not “fit” with “apple” or “intel” or some other mega corp who is milking an older technology….