Bose has formally filed a lawsuit against Beats Electronics, the producer of Dr. Dre"s popular "Beats By Dre" headphone line and soon-to-be acquisition of Apple Inc., over apparent patent violations concerning noise-cancelling headphone technology.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday in Delaware"s District Court, with Bose formally naming five patents they say Beats violated: two frequency compensation technology patents, and three signal processing patents. Details are scarce, but the lawsuit was first reported earlier today by CNBC"s Twitter account.
The lawsuit comes just before Apple is expected to finalize their Beats acquisition, which will reportedly close in mid-September for $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock shares. Following the acquisition, Apple will formally own Beats Electronics, their headphones and hardware division, and Beats Music, their newly-launched music streaming service. Despite speculation that Apple only purchased Beats to catch up with its competitors in the music industry, the company is still confident in their acquisition despite the massive price tag -- although it is unknown whether the lawsuit by Bose, which may take several months to clear the court before it is officially heard, will be handled by a legal team from Apple or Beats.
Source: CNBC | Image via Fame Magazine