Bose accuses Beats of using patented noise-cancelling tech

Bose Corp. filed a lawsuit on Friday that accuses popular headphone maker Beats Electronics of infringing upon several of its patents.

The suit claims that Bose lost sales because Beats—which Apple announced it would acquire for $3 billion in May—used patented noise-cancelling technology in its Studio and Studio Wireless headphone lines.

Beats' products that allegedly use the technology "can also be used for noise cancellation when no music is played, a feature that Beats also advertises," the suit states. "Thus, Beats specifically encourages users to use the infringing functionality. Beats advertises no method to turn off features that cause end users to directly infringe."

Bose specifically alleges that Beats infringed on five US patents: patent 6,717,537, titled "Method and Apparatus for Minimizing Latency in Digital Signal Processing Systems;" patent 8,073,150, a "Dynamically Configurable ANR Signal Processing Topology;" patent 8,073,151, a "Dynamically Configurable ANR Filter Block Technology;" patent 8,054,992, which specifies a method for high frequency compensating; and patent 8,345,888, which covers "Digital High Frequency Phase Compensation."

Although Bose never mentions Apple in the 22-page complaint, the acquisition price of the private company may have played a part in spurring Bose to sue. The suit doesn't include a specific damage demand.

Bose has also filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission against Beats over the same infringement claims. That means the patent lawsuit filed in federal court will be stayed while the ITC case gets resolved first.

Beats declined to comment on the suit to Reuters, but a Bose rep said in a statement that the company is "committed to protecting our investment, protecting our customers, and defending the patents we own."

This isn't the first time Bose has sued a competitor over patents. It sued Able Planet last year over its noise-canceling headphones, and apparently reached a settlement. In April, Bose sued Monster for selling headphones that infringe a Bose patent related to "fit and retention characteristics" of their in-ear headphones. That case is in its early stages.

~KLM

\\ "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." ~Helen Keller //

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Posted by: Just Murray <krismurray@gmail.com>

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