I have to say that I'm thankful that my own attempt at a Kickstarter project (one that failed by the way) wasn't at risk of being killed off by Apple. Or any other patent holder for that matter. But that is what seems to have happened to the POP project that was successfully funded .
The basic idea was to produce a charger, a universal charger, for all of our various pieces of gadgetry. This required access to Lightning so that it could be universal, able to charge the iPhone 5 (and, presumably, other to come iDevices). They were refused permission to use Lightning. That's Apple's privilege of course, as the owners of the technology. But it does kill the project:
When Apple officially announced the move to Lightning we determined the best course of action was to incorporate two Lightning chargers, and two 30-pins (along with the four micro-USB’s). After applying to Apple (which is now required for Lightning), we learned that they are no longer willing to approve a product that uses the Lightning charger alongside any other charger (including their own 30-pin – seriously). Just like that, POP could no longer fulfill its true promise.
Seems like a pity but as ever, private property is private property and you cannot force someone to make a patent available to you. This is understandable though:
“We are pissed,” Edison Junior CEO Jamie Siminoff told me on the phone today. “I think they are being a bunch of assholes, and I think they’re hurting their customers.”
I'm not sure why Apple would want to make sure that anything that uses Lightning can only use Lightning though. I can't see how that makes sense in any manner.
