Bose sues Beats over noise cancellation technology

Bose Corp, the high end soundsystem and headphone manufacturer who recently announced Guy Sebastian as its Australian ambassador, is suing Beats Electronics.

Bose has accused the fellow audio product producer of violating patents for noise-cancellation technology.

According to Music Times, the five patents Bose have accused Beats of infringing relate to active noise reduction, they are:

• 8,073,151: “Dynamically configurable ANR filter block topology” by Joho et. al.. Includes 30 claims (2 indep.). Granted 12/6/2011.
• 8,073,150: “Dynamically configurable ANR signal processing topology” by Joho et. al.. Includes 24 claims (2 indep.). Granted 12/6/2011.
• 6,717,537: “Method and apparatus for minimizing latency in digital signal processing systems” by Fang et. al. Prosecuted by Thelen Reid & Priest LLP Robbins; Steven J.. Includes 19 claims (3 indep.). Granted 4/6/2004.
• 8,345,888: “Digital high frequency phase compensation” by Carreras et. al.. Includes 16 claims (3 indep.). Granted 1/1/2013.
• 8,054,992: “High frequency compensating” by Sapiejewski.. Includes 23 claims (6 indep.). Granted 11/8/2011.

In the lawsuit filed on Friday (July 25) at the District Court for Delaware, Bose has claimed it lost profits as a result of Beats willingly infringing the aforementioned patents, which it claims Beats uses in its Studio and Studio Wireless headphones line.

“We are committed to protecting our investment, protecting our customers, and defending the patents we own," said a Bose representative in a statement.

Bose is seeking unspecified damages from Beats. Should Beats be found guilty of violating Bose’s patents, it may be forced to redesign its product line.

The news follows a suit filed by Beats earlier this month over businesses from China who allegedly sold counterfeit Beats products online.

Beats Electronics was founded by producer Jimmy Iovine and rapper Dr. Dre in 2006; the pair sold the company to Apple earlier this year for $3.25 billion.