Bose sues Beats over headphone noise-cancellation patents

Bose Corp filed a patent-infringement action seeking to block US imports of noise-cancelling headphones made by Beats Electronics, the company being bought by Apple.

The Beats Studio and Beats Studio Wireless headphones use technology covered by five patents, Bose said in a complaint filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington on Friday.

A mirror civil suit, filed on Saturday in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, makes the same allegations and is likely to be put on hold while the ITC case is pending. Apple agreed to buy Beats for $3 billion in May, its biggest-ever acquisition, with founders Dr. Dre and music-industry executive Jimmy Iovine joining the Cupertino, Californiabased firm.

Bose said it began developing its noise-cancelling technology almost four decades ago and started selling its QuietComfort headphones in 2000. The technology in the latest patents involves the use of sound waves to cancel out unwanted noise.

“The inventions covered by the asserted patents arose out of the inventors’ recognition of the unique technical problems associated with constructing improved high-performance noise canceling headphones,” Bose said in the International Trade Commission complaint. Sarah Joyce, a spokeswoman for Beats, said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Apple plans to keep Beats as a standalone brand and the music app that will run on devices based on Android and Windows operating system, as well as those made by Apple. The purchase is for $2.6 billion with $400 million more that will vest over time.

The ITC case is In the Matter of Certain Noise Cancelling Headphones and Components Thereof, Complaint No. 3024, US International Trade Commission (Washington) and the civil suit is Bose Corp v Beats Electronics LLC, 14cv980, US District Court for the District of Delaware (Wilmington). Apple’s deal to acquire Beats is pending regulatory approval.

If the deal is consummated, the Bose lawsuit would be another legal front for Apple, which is already waging patent battles with companies such as Samsung.In the filing, Bose said the patents relate to the company’s “active noise reduction” technology, first used in Bose products for the military in the 1980s and released for consumers in 2000.