A similar feature can be found on fryers and other kitchen devices...

Jan 16, 2006 17:07 GMT  ·  By

Besides being Intel based and having a built in iSight, the new MacBook Pro laptop introduced at Macworld also has a smart little feature that was very much needed.

In Jobs's words, the MagSafe is a "new power adaptor... that's magnetically held in and when the cord gets yanked it just pulls right off. It works beautifully."

And indeed it works beautifully, and will serve to dramatically reduce the number of accidents related to power cord yanking which usually results in a broken laptop that needs to be replaced.

As Jobs said, the MagSafe is patent-pending, and already other manufacturers are looking at the feature and thinking how it would look on their products, so the need for a patent is obvious? there is only one little problem though. It's already been done.

The break away cord is a standard developed by Underwriters Laboratories and meant to be used in kitchen appliances that can cause serious accidents if their power cord is yanked on by children. A CNN article dated on the 4th of July 2001 discussed the breakaway cord that was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

While Apple's move to adapt the standard to their laptops is a great move for the end user, the fact that a similar device has been in use poses a serious problem when it comes to patenting it. It all depends on how different Apple's approach is to that of Underwriters Laboratories.