Apple has just removed Bose headphones and speakers from its retail outlets following the end of a legal dispute involving noise-cancellation technology patents.
The move comes about five months after the company agreed to purchase Bose's main rival, Beats Electronics. Bose headphones and speakers are no longer available in Apple's online store. However, the removal was not just for the company's online retail space. According to 9to5Mac, Bose products have also been taken off of Apple's retail stores.
There's no official word on what caused the removal of Bose products from Apple's stores. However, many reports have raised the possibility that it is connected to a lawsuit between Bose and one of Apple's latest acquisitions, Beats Electronics.
Beats Electronics, which was founded by rapper Dr. Dre, was acquired by Apple earlier in the year for $3 billion. Shortly after the deal was publicized, Bose sued Beats Electronics for infringing on its patents for noise-cancellation technology. In its complaint, Bose claimed that Beats Electronics' "Adaptive Noise Cancellation" feature violated five separate patents that it holds in the United States. The company claimed that the technology Beats stole came from its QuietComfort brand of noise-cancellation headphones.
Less than three months after filing the lawsuit, Bose agreed to dismiss its claim against Beats for an undisclosed settlement.
In spite of the deal, relations have remained strained between the two rivals. The National Football League, which has a sponsorship deal with Bose, has penalized its players for appearing with Beats Electronics headphones when appearing in front of TV cameras during practices and games. Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was recently fined $10,000 for wearing Beats Electronics headphones during a post-game press conference.
Rumors surrounding the removal of Bose headphones and speakers from the Apple store first surfaced more than a week ago. A "reliable source" told MacRumors that the company was preparing to take out demo and sellable Bose products from its retail space. The early report, which claimed that the company was preparing to send employees instructions for removal of Bose products, pegged the changes to take place "early in the week." Apple removed Bose products from its online store on Friday.
