Monday, July 28, 2014

Beats by Dre Sued Over Noise-cancelling Patents

Beats by Dre
 
Rival headphones manufacturer Bose is suing Beats by Dre for alleged copyright infringement, according to multiple sources. The lawsuit claims that Beats has infringed on five patents relating to active noise reduction (ANR) — its noise-cancelling technology.
 
“ANR is a technique to reduce unwanted noise by introducing a second sound source that destructively interferes with the unwanted noise,” explained Bose’s lawyer in documents filed with Delaware District Court.
 
The lawsuit comes two months after Apple announced it was buying Beats for $3 billion.
 
According to court documents, Bose was granted the rights to the inventions over a nine-year period ranging from 2004 to 2013. BBC News writes that “the company originally developed the technology for the US Air Force and US Army, before launching its first noise-cancelling headphones for consumers in 2000.”
 
Other headphone makers such as JVC, Sennheiser, and Sony use a similar feature but Bose’s director of public relations Carolyn Cinotti told BBC that “we don’t license our technology to other headphone manufacturers.”
 
Related: Beats by Dre President Defends Headphone Quality

| Music Tech
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