EU legislation means the end of proprietary phone chargers

Bad news for companies such as Apple

could EU end to a ray of apple?

Battery chargers standard for all mobile phones will have to be provided by manufacturers in the future, once the EU project proposals become law. Yesterday [19 December 2013], European lawmakers were putting the final touches to proposals which, if approved by the Parliament and the Member States, will be executed around 2017. Which means that the manufacturers of mobile phones will have to provide a standard charger that can fit any device, including smartphones, although businesses will react as Apple - and whose latest iPhone lightning connectors incorporate a tiny chip to copy combat - is yet to be seen.

As well as Apple, subcontractors like Wolfson Microelectronics of Britain, which won a contract to supply light wires last year, could be affected in a similar way, as other companies such as Asus whose charges also have proprietary designs.

But lawmakers yesterday backed a previous report by the Committee on the internal market in the Union's agreement there no compelling reason for a phone charger must be protected by patent owners.

Also, in the future, all Chargers distributed in member countries must have a standard interface - probably one based on a microUSB connector.

Once the law is complete, Member States will have two years to incorporate it into national laws, although some larger manufacturers - including Apple and Samsung - you will be given an additional year to comply.

Legislators also agreed to the supervision of markets more difficult to ensure that certain products have to be registered until they can be sold, according to a database that is already used in the United States.

Dave Evans is a commentator established long in both the IT and mobile industries. His current focus is in part trends of prices within the sector. You can send an email here