General

Business claims Apple Beats created from stolen idea

Last spring we wrote a post about a lawsuit between rapper 50 Cent and a Florida business. In that post we discussed the Florida business’ success in securing damages for misappropriation of trade secrets, unjust enrichment and breach of confidentiality.  As it turns out, that is not the only legal dispute to arise involving companies manufacturing and marketing headphones. A lawsuit was recently filed against Apple’s Beats.

The lawsuit asserts that music heavyweights Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre stole the idea for the product from the audio equipment company, Monster. More specifically, Monster claims that despite as a partner, financing the project and doing all of the work, it was blocked from business deals.

Prior to the expiration of the deal between the three parties Monster alleges that the headphone technology, which “revolutionized the audio industry,” along with its value, was stolen away. As a result of that action Monster said it suffered millions of dollars in damages.

Readers are probably aware of the success the headphone company has experienced. Apple purchased the headphones, as well as a music streaming service, for $3 billion. Because of the value of the sale it is unsurprising that a company that was involved in the development of a product worth so much would take action to get a part of the profit.

Lawsuits of this nature are a possibility anytime a business consists of a partnership. Both pursuing as well as defending such cases can be a complicated and expensive endeavor. For the best chance at securing a positive result most businesses find it beneficial to work with a lawyer.

Mon Aug 27, 2:23pm