Bose Sues Beats, Claims Noise Canceling Headphones Violate Patents

A timely move, Beats — now owned by Apple — has been sued by Bose. The litigation is said to revolve around noise canceling headphones. Details are sketchy, but it's a potentially devastating blow to Beats' hardware division.

It's not the first time Beats has been sued, either. A co-founder of Beats recently sued the company, saying he was owed royalties. His alleged concept? Take Beats' headphones and tie them to celebs for marketing purposed.

Beats also ran afoul of Mog, whom they snapped up to build their music subscription services. Mog's former CEO and founder David Hyman filed suit for $20 million, claiming he was forced out ahead of royalty payments coming due.

Patents held by Bose involved in the case read as a list of everything that makes noise canceling tech possible. Dynamically configurable ANR filter block topology, Digital high frequency phase compensation, and Method and apparatus for minimizing latency in digital signal processing systems all suggest Bose is owed a piece of the pie.

Bose is seeking a sales ban internationally on Beats products. The company said they'd also file a federal patent infringement suit in Delaware. This is a developing story, but we'll keep you up to date as it unfolds.