Beats Electronics, which struck a deal to be acquired by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) not too long ago, now faces a lawsuit filed by Bose Corporation. According to court documents reviewed by ValueWalk, Bose has sued Beats in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and filed a second complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission. CNBC was the first to report the lawsuit.
Bose files suit against Beats Electronics
The lawsuit states that Bose holds “numerous patents” for noise canceling headphones. The company holds at least 27 patents for its latest headphones model. Bose also names its 2004 patent for a “Method and Apparatus for Minimizing Latency in Digital Signal Processing Systems” and a 2011 patent for “Dynamically Configurable ANR Signal Processing Topology. ” The other three patents named in the case are a 2011 patent entitled “Dynamically Configurable ANR Filter Block Technology,” another 2011 patent called “High Frequency Compensating” and a third from 2013 entitled “Digital High Frequency Phase Compensation.”
Bose states that its latest QC20 uses at least one of the inventions claimed in all of the named patents and that it has put the required notice on all products made and / or sold under the patents.
Details on the patents
The company also states that Beats sells headphones under its Studio and Studio Wireless brands, as well as others. Beats reportedly says its headphones use “Adaptive Noise Cancellation,” which it markets as a type of noise cancellation.
Bose accuses Beats Electronics of infringing upon the named patents and states that it notified Beats of its alleged patent infringement already. The company also states that the products in question don’t have any substantial use that does not infringe upon its patents.
Bose seeks damages from Beats Electronics
In the lawsuit, Bose seeks a declaration of patent infringement for the patents in question, an injunction against further infringement, damages, and an order finding that the company’s infringement was willful, thus increasing the damages.
Bose also demands a trial by jury for the case.
