Bose Sues Beats for Patent Infringement Over Noise-Cancelling Headphones

[kas23]

Oh no, here comes the Apple/Beats apologists!

Simple equations

Apple suing for IP infringement = good

Another company suing Apple for infringement = bad.

Ironic thing is if Bose sued Beats 6 months ago, everyone here would've been rooting for them.

All of a sudden...

Do you think Bose was waiting for them to be purchased by an electronics giant, one with a much more developed and experienced legal department, before filing their lawsuit?

If their legal claim is weak, they're dead in the water with Apple. If it's truly a legitimate claim and they're looking for a lucrative licensing deal, more power to them. They deserve it, Apple should have done their due diligence.

 

[kas23]

Double post

 

[subsonix]

Simple equations

Apple suing for IP infringement = good

Another company suing Apple for infringement = bad.

Ironic thing is if Bose sued Beats 6 months ago, everyone here would've been rooting for them.

Who here has read the claims and a) understood them, and b) know how they relate to Beats' implementation, i.e if they infringe or not. If any of those are missing, it's impossible to make any kind of judgement, at all.

 

[bearboy]

Simple equations

Apple suing for IP infringement = good

Another company suing Apple for infringement = bad.

Ironic thing is if Bose sued Beats 6 months ago, everyone here would've been rooting for them.



Do you think Bose was waiting for them to be purchased by an electronics giant, one with a much more developed and experienced legal department, before filing their lawsuit?

If their legal claim is weak, they're dead in the water with Apple. If it's truly a legitimate claim and they're looking for a lucrative licensing deal, more power to them. They deserve it, Apple should have done their due diligence.

Or if they went after Google or Samsung instead of Apple. Some people here would be rooting for Bose. BUT since Beats is under the Apple umbrella now they're screaming bloody murder.

 

[InfoTime]

...after Apple acquires Beats, of course. :roll eyes:

Bose is just jealous that Apple didn't acquire them instead of Beats....

Apple hasn't acquired Beats yet.

 

[InfoTime]

One of my favorite companies bought a company that not only makes amazingly overpriced products but represents the kind of people I'd want to stay away from. Why don't they buy Conduit and Bonzi while they're at it?

My feelings exactly.

 

[Larry-K]

Q: What do you call 25 attorneys buried up to their chins in cement?
A: Not enough cement.

I believe it's 10,000 attorneys.

 

[kahkityoong]

I don't even think Bose actually attends the High Fi shows, they aren't considered anything but "Lo Fi". there are other products for the same money that have much better sound quality. Bose and Beats just know how to market to the masses that are easily manipulated by marketing BS.

If you want to see what's on the market, the best place to go are these many audio shows they have and there is usually one in big cities once a year. That's where a lot of audio mfg bring their headphones and other products to listen to.

Here's a list of the various shows if you are interested. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/showreports/

These are show reports from past shows and they have both headphone based products all the way up to the super expensive systems.

Just as an FYI, I know someone that actually owns an Infinity IRS system he bought used and he listened to a pair of Audeze headphones and he thinks the headphones are just as good in terms of sound quality as his monstrosity of a system. the headphones cost a couple of thousand and the IRS system costs considerably more when you consider all of the power amps, etc. that it takes to drive the system. So, spending $1000 to $3000 for a pair of headphones are actually a bargain when you consider what it sounds like. If you've never heard a pair of these high end headphones, you'll never know what you are missing. It doesn't cost much to listen to a pair in the audio store.

Beats = Lo-fi
Bose = Mid-fi
Audeze = Summit-fi

IMO

 

[garya73]

Perhaps it is just that Apple now being involved due to the pending acquisition of Beats brings the extra attention to Bose using Beats. Especially since it has been stated that Beats previously knew they were going to be brought to court by Bose.

Maybe Bose decided to step up their game because Beats being part of Apple would present the strong potential of a very large amount of lost business due to the alleged patent infringements. If Apple can successfully pair Beats headphones with their products, this limits the ability of third parties being able to tap into the potential market of Apple owners who are looking to purchase headphones. And take that worldwide, and there is a lot of downside for Bose if they simply do nothing.

If they are filing this suit in good faith, and manage to at least extract a licensing fee from Beats after being found guilty of patent infringement, I say good for them. I highly doubt this is simply an opportunistic money grab - especially if you get Apple's legal team behind the fight.

Then again, I don't wear headphones, so what do I know?

 

[NY Guitarist]

I liked Audio-Technica headphones long before they were cool.

Oh... they're still not cool? Cool!

 

[IJ Reilly]

Bose was ahead of all those guys. When the Bose noise cancellers came out first they were ridiculously costly and needed a special plug to power them. At that time the David Clarks and others all looked much like they do today, big green blobs on your ears, the Bose noise cancellation was so good they were able to make the headphones lighter.

For the first few years, if I remember correctly, if you wanted noise cancelling for your David Clarks then you bought a 3-rd party kit and fitted it yourself. Eventually the other guys caught up and offered them.

I never actually liked the Bose aviation headset however (was it called the Bose X or something). Having flown for years with DCs I liked the way they really stuck on your ears. DCs + noise cancel was my go-to pair until I gave up flying.

I've never been a David Clark fan. All of my ANR headsets have been Lightspeeds. More bang for the buck for those of us flying GA putt-putts.

 

[CFreymarc]

It may be more cost effective for Apple to buy Bose to resolve this.

Think of it, Bose has this huge home entertainment and audiophile market. Would be a good move for Apple. Sure they have the cash for it since Bose has not been doing well these last few years.

 

[SHNXX]

Bose Sues Beats for Patent Infringement Over Noise-Cancelling Headphones

Macrumors readers' collective IQ just went down a full standard deviation from all the idiotic posts in this thread.

"Oh my god how dare they sue for some general idea?"
-never read the patent or the article

"Beats is ghetto trash"
-closet racist

"Bose sucks"
-doesn't realize it's not relevant

"Thieves should be punished"
-already made up his mind without doing any reading


What is wrong with these people?
Can these people be sterilized?

 

[sebastian...]

Beats typically fall in a much higher price range than those. I've had decent luck with Sennheiser. If you're looking for decent cheap headphones, these are my favorites. I have the older version, and they've lasted at least 4 years without problems beyond earpad replacement. The older ones were only around $30, which was ridiculously cheap for their quality. I use those as a pair I can take anywhere, as they're cheap enough that I don't worry about damage. The new ones do cost more though. I haven't tried the exact model linked. Some of their more expensive ones available as cans are decent, but they cost way more money.

Thanks. They look comfortable indeed, small and with foam. And the reviews are good. The price doesn't matter, only the form factor and sound.

I've found another one Grado SR80i which also have foam but they look bigger and less comfortable. And reading the reviews they don't seem to have as good low frequency response.

 

[MH01]

Did not think the day would come when Apple apologists would defend Beats.... We have hit an all time low on MR!

Hopefully the judge will come to a conclusion that the real crime here is sound quality v cost , which both Bose and Beats are guilty of!!!!

 

[Nevaborn]

I was going to do a blog post about Crappy Headphones in near future but may have to bump it up the schedule following this.

Frankly Bose headphones are awful and so are Beats. But after seeing what is on the market today so many are cheap creaky plastic crap that have no feeling of quality.

 

[thekev]

Thanks. They look comfortable indeed, small and with foam. And the reviews are good. The price doesn't matter, only the form factor and sound.

No problem. I'm not saying those are amazing headphones. They obviously don't sound as good as a solid pair of cans, but I don't think Bose or Beats offer much in comparison for several times that amount of money. That was kind of my point. In my experience those sound good for what they are, and the headbands don't crack. The pads do wear out, and replacements are around $10. Pads pretty much wear out on any headphones. They'll last longer if you're careful about storage.

Oh that I'm not denying, they're just not as bad as I've heard from the AV community at large.

But then again, people in the computer community and phone community say the same thing about Apple.

That sound about right, although some of them may have very sensitive ears. If you have really amazing headphones or speakers, it is probably difficult to go back to something of lower quality.

 

[farewelwilliams]

I don't own either because you can get the same or better for a fraction of the cost (except Bose probably does have the best noise cancelling, but probably not worth four times the price of something with 90% of the noise cancelling/sound quality). But Bose has much better balance and Beats has $30 worth of bass.

On both you are paying for the symbol on the side.

while it's not worth four times the price, I can't find any other noise canceling headphones that come close to the noise canceling performance.

 

[dukebound85]

All of a sudden...

Yes, you don't sue until there is a great potential for a payoff. It is smart business to wait if your patents are being infringed upon

 

[Boomish69]

It's joke really headphones are one of the most overpriced hyped up products, noise cancelling isn't rocket science, anyone can do it by reversing the phase of a signal.

I hope Apple drop the stupid Beats deal personally, no serious musician would buy em, unless their a poser

 

[roadbloc]

Nice move Bose. Nice move.

 

[MacGeek1987]

What if it's valid? What if Beats is actually infringing on patents held by Bose?

Then ideally Bose will win. However, courtroom victories tend to have more to do with the talent of the legal team and the money they have to spend on their case than the guilt or innocence of a particular party. Apple has the resources to flood Bose with paperwork for the next few years. I'd honestly be surprised if this makes it to a courtroom.

 

[orl2222]

Not the first time Bose has gone after another company, Audio Technica got sued over their noise cancelling technology. If you want good noise cancelling I suggest getting a pair of Etymotic in ear monitors, expense but do offer isolation without all the gimmicks.

 

[Tech198]

"In the filing, Bose points towards the 50 years of research, engineering, and development of noise cancellation techniques that went into the creation of its QuietComfort line of noise-cancelling headphones, which use the technology Beats has allegedly stolen."

(You think this will hold up in any court ??)

 

[atlatnesiti]

Hilarious! They waited until Apple bought Beats.

Desperation for survival, thats all what it is