Bose is suing Beats Electronics for allegedly infringing the patents of its noise-cancelling technology.
The news first came out after CNBC technology correspondent Josh Liption tweeted "BREAKING: Bose sues Apple's Beats over noise-canceling headphone patents. (via @CNBCJosh) $AAPL."
According to Mashable, Beats infringed five patents and used them on the Beats Studio and Studio Wireless products. The filing listed on Priorsmart included Beats Electronics and Beats Electronics International as defendants.
The filing specified the patents infringed by California-based headphone maker which included method and apparatus for minimizing latency in digital signal processing systems; method and apparatus for minimizing latency in digital signal processing systems; and dynamically configurable ANR filter block technology, among others.
The noise-cancelling technology, also known as active noise control, reduces unwanted sound by tacking on additional audio. Bose included in its filing the history of how the company invested in research as early as 1978 to employ the technology to its Bose QuietComfort 20 and Bose QuietComfort 20i.
Bose said that Beats user manuals instructed users how to reduce the noise in a manner that uses Bose's patents. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and will be investigated by the U.S. International Trade Commission, Forbes reported.
Bose released a statement regarding the issue.
"The filing is comprehensive and explains our position, and as a matter of practice, we don't comment on ongoing litigation. We can share that for over 30 years, Bose has made significant investments in the research, development, engineering and design of the proprietary technologies found in our headphones. We are committed to protecting our investment, protecting our customers, and defending the patents we own."
Beats refused to comment on pending litigation.
