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Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale
One cannot patent a battery, iirc. So the aftermarket producers could easily engineer a battery that would be much less expensive than Apple's OEM replacement.
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Actually, all battery technologies are patented and royalties are supposed to be paid. There is a patent fight between the researchers who developed Li-ion. That said, most of the Li-ion batteries coming out of factories in China probably aren't paying royalties on them.
But I'm sure you mean the proprietary battery design that goes into a certain device. The battery technology might not be patentable but they could patent the charging circuit or some other technology that makes it a smart battery for the particular device.
You never know with Apple. Afterall, yesterday they decided to sue Samsung for introducing a rectangular phone with a touchscreen and icons as infringing on their rights.