After locking horns in court for several months, Bose Corp. and Apple's Beat Electronics have amiably settled a patent infringement lawsuit on noise-cancelling headphones.
On Oct. 10, Beats and Bose resolved the dispute over patents and reached an out-of-court settlement. The two companies informed a U.S. court in Delaware of the settlement through a joint filing, requesting the U.S. International Trade Commission to dismiss its investigation.
Apple purchased Beats Electronics in May for $3 billion, which is the Cupertino-based company's biggest purchase to date.
"Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple. That's why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the time.
Bose is synonymous with high-end audio equipment. The company has been creating noise-cancelling technology for the past four decades; it began retailing its popular QuietComfort headphones in 2000.
Earlier in July, Massachusetts-based Bose petitioned the International Trade Commission to stop the imports of Beats' headphones, which include Beats Studio Wireless and Beats Studio, as the Apple-owned firm was using Bose's creations without any payment. Bose also filed a complaint in a court in Delaware against Beats for patent infringement.
Bose alleged that Beats intentionally infringed five of its patents related to The Studio Wireless and Studio lineup of headphones. Bose also claimed that owing to the patent infringement, the company suffered sales loss and, therefore, was seeking an undisclosed sum from Beats for damages.
Beats' lawyers, on the other hand, filed for unopposed motion, seeking that the lawsuit be kept on hold until the International Trade Commission looked into the matter and investigated Bose's claims.
Now with the dispute settled amiably, both companies can breathe easy. However, the conditions of the settlement have not been divulged by either company, with Bose only revealing that the lawsuit has been "resolved."
