Apple Patent – Foreshadowing GoPro’s Demise?

Shares of GoPro sank 12 percent Tuesday following news that the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent for a remote-controlled, mountable camera, Bloomberg reported. The stock closed Tuesday at $49.87, and while it rebounded slightly Wednesday ($52.34 at closing), it wasn’t enough to quell investor concerns that GoPro could face its stiffest competition yet.

“Investors are concerned that the patent will let Apple, the world’s largest company by market valuation, make products that are similar to what GoPro offers,” said Charlie Anderson, an investment bank and brokerage analyst at Dougherty & Co., to Bloomberg’s Peter Burrows.

Patently Apple monitors Apple’s patent filings and acknowledges that many patents don’t amount to an actual product on the market. However, they found an interesting nugget that makes this seem Apple has a real investment in entering the sports camera market.

What’s interesting here is that Apple’s invention that was filed in 2012 appears to now incorporate intellectual property from Kodak that they acquired back in November 2013. In one implementation, Apple’s invention could directly move into GoPro’s territory as the patent specifically mentions the weaknesses of the GoPro devices.

If Apple acquired a specific Kodak patent to bolster their granted invention, it would appear to be one Apple is taking very seriously. Why else purchase a patent if you’re going to just shelf the idea[?] Exactly which part of the technology Apple is interested in […] isn’t known at this time.

And really, this patent may not be for sports cameras. Maybe it’s related to the iWatch. Or some other Apple product we have no idea about.

Alex Gauna, an analyst for JMP Securities, isn’t concerned by the patent.

“It does not seem to me that launching an action camera accessory is the most logical product extension for Apple to pursue right now,” Gauna told Reuters.

However, details within the patent, such as the following, lend to the idea that Apple has the power to put a dent in the sports camera market if it wants to. And that’s enough to spook investors.

In some embodiments, the microphone is capable of recording sounds in air and also in an underwater environment when the digital camera is used to record underwater images. In other embodiments, the digital camera includes both a conventional air microphone as well as an underwater microphone (hydrophone) capable of recording underwater sounds.

Apple notes in the patent that the camera could be secured to an object, like handle bars, a helmet or a surfboard. Additionally, the system lets users control the camera remotely, which GoPro offers through an app.

Let’s not kid ourselves, GoPro is a beast. Anderson said that the company earned $1 billion in revenue last year. Along with the lion’s share of the sports camera market, GoPro has the buzz and brand name awareness that most companies envy.

But this is Apple we’re talking about. Describing the company’s faithful as a powerful consumer base is like saying Michael Jordan was pretty good at basketball. And with its history of designing stylish products, sports camera shoppers could very well be swayed by a brand name that squashes GoPro and buy a more creative, cooler-looking camera.

(Image via Andreas Kambanis)