As Apple wraps up its acquisition of Beats, the Cupertino-based tech company will inherent a patent suit along with the line of premium headphones.
Bose has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Delaware and entered a complaint to the International Trade Commission alleging that five of its patents were infringed on by Beats. It is requesting a halt in the sales of affected products.
In both the lawsuit and the ITC complaint, Bose alleged that Beats' Studio and Studio® Wireless, among other series, infringed on protected technologies used to cancel and compensate for noise.
Bose alleged that Beats infringed on patents 537, "Method and Apparatus for Minimizing Latency in Digital Signal Processing Systems"; 150, "Dynamically Configurable ANR Signal Processing Topology"; 151, "Dynamically Configurable ANR Filter Block Technology"; 992, "High Frequency Compensating"; and 888, "Digital High-Frequency Phase Compensation," according to a copy of the lawsuit that was published by "Inafried" on Scribd.
Patent 537 covers the equipment and methods used to combat latency in active noise reduction (ANR) delivery by aligning the "anti-noise signal" with the input audio stream, according to the ITC complaint. Patent 992 reduces delay in ANR circuits, using a "compensation pattern," while patent 882 raises the gain of audio filtered through ANR.
Patent 150 covers the topology for dual-pathways that allows users to tune noise-cancellation effects, even when audio isn't being sent to the headphones, and patent 151 covers the technology used to achieve the effect described under patent 150, stated the ITC complaint.
Bose said its noise-cancellation elements are the product of more than 50 years of research and development, citing the use of Bose headphones and helmets bearing the patented technology in commercial and military environments before implementation in consumer products. It said it has 22 concreted patents on noise-cancellation technology and 14 pending.
"Because Bose invests heavily in research and development, and because Bose has built its reputation on producing superior products through innovative technology, Bose's continued success depends in substantial part on its ability to establish, maintain, and protect its proprietary technology through enforcement of its patent rights," stated Bose.
Bose has demanded a jury trial, the cessation of Beats' alleged use of technology patented by Bose, an accounting of the implicated products, recompense for damage and relief from legal expenses.
In May 2011, Apple came to terms (subscription required) with Jimmy Lovine and Dr. Dre and agreed to purchase Beats for $3 billion. Apple said it would tender $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in its own stocks.
