Bose sues Beats over noise-cancelling headphones

There are many headphone companies around, although when it comes to “luxury” headphones, brands like Bose and Beats probably comes to mind. Both companies, in the audiophile world, are typically viewed as companies who price their headphones for more than they are worth. We guess this is subjective and it really depends on whether you can justify its price, but in the meantime it looks like Bose has hit Beats with a lawsuit. In a recent court filing, Bose alleges that Beats had infringed upon five of its patents, all of which are related to noise-cancelling headphones. The patents in question include Method and apparatus for minimizing latency in digital signal processing systems; Dynamically configurable ANR signal processing topology; Dynamically configurable ANR filter block topology; High frequency compensating topology; and Digital high frequency phase compensation.

Today Bose Corporation has filed a legal complaint against Beats Electronics for allegedly infringing patents related to its noise-canceling headphones, which was first reported by CNBC. Bose claims that Beats is infringing upon 50 years of research and development of noise cancellation technology that is protected by 36 U.S. patents and applications. “To protect its investments, Bose has sought patent protection, and owns many patents and 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,” said Bose in its complaint. Apple announced earlier this year that it intends to buy Beats Electronics and Beats Music for $3 billion. This lawsuit adds to the numerous patent battles that Apple is facing against Samsung Electronics . In the legal complaint, Bose specifically accused the Beats Studio and Beats Studio Wireless headphones for infringing patents embodied within its latest noise-canceling headphone models — the Bose QuietComfort 20 and Bose QuietComfort 20i (known as the QC20 line). Beats sells its Studio headphones with “Adaptive Noise Cancellation” features through its website BeatsByDre.com and retailers with locations throughout the country, including Best Buy, Staples, Target and Radio Shack.