Ondrej Holzman Bose and Beats were able to agree to an out-of-court settlement fighting over ambient noise reduction technology (noise canceling), which according to Bose its competitor copied. In the end, the dispute will not go to court, because the lawyers of both sides were able to find common ground.
Bose claimed that Beats had infringed on its patents for ambient noise reduction, a characteristic of Bose headphones, and the QuietComfort range is considered one of the best in terms of ambient noise reduction.
At the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Bose representatives requested that imports of the Beats Studio and Beats Studio Wireless headphones be banned, but after several months of negotiations, the ITC has now received a request to stop the investigation into potential patent infringement.
However, the battle between Bose and Beats, now owned by Apple, is far from over. Instead of court cases, however, it is a pure competition. Bose has currently signed a very expensive contract with the NFL (American Football League), which will make Bose headphones the official brand of the competition, so players and coaches will not be able to wear, for example, Beats headphones during games.
However, Apple could counter by removing Bose products from its brick-and-mortar stores, as has been speculated in recent days. Customers may no longer be able to purchase SoundLink Mini or SoundLink III speakers from Apple, as Beats in particular will receive a privileged position.
