Headphone and speaker maker Bose filed suit Friday against Beats, accusing the soon-to-be Apple company of infringing five patents related to noise-canceling headphones. The accused products include the Beats Studio and Studio Wireless headphones, and Bose has asked for financial damages and an injunction to ban the sale of infringing Beats products.
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| Noise Canceling Bose Headphones |
Bose said in its complaint, lodged with the US District Court in Delaware and with the US International Trade Commission, that it has "suffered and will continue to suffer damages, in an amount yet to be determined, including due to loss of sales, profits, and potential sales that Bose would have made but for Beats' infringing acts," the company's complaint said.
It added that for almost 50 years, it has "made significant investment in the research, development, engineering, and design of proprietary technologies" used in its products. Its current line of noise-canceling headphones, for instance, uses inventions protected by at least 22 US patents and 14 pending patent applications.
"Because Bose invests heavily in research and development, and because Bose has built its reputation on producing superior products through innovative technology, Bose's continued success depends in substantial part on its ability to establish, maintain, and protect its proprietary technology through enforcement of its patent rights," the company said in its complaint.
Beats declined to comment. We've contacted Apple and will update the report when we have more information.
