Apple reached a settlement with headphone manufacturer Koss over alleged patent infringement in its wireless headphone products Airpods and Beats headphones, the two companies revealed in a U.S. court filing Saturday.
The companies filed before a federal court in Waco, Texas that they have resolved the dispute over allegations Apple infringed on Koss wireless headphone patents two days before a scheduled hearing on the case, Engadget reported.
Koss. Apple 'Resolved All Matters in Controversy Between Them'
In a "Joint Stipulation of Dismissal" filing from the legal teams of both Apple and Koss at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on July 23 states that the parties have "resolved all matters in controversy between them."
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright dismissed the case with prejudice also on Saturday. This means the case could not be refiled. As part of the dismissal, Koss and Apple indicated bearing their own costs, expenses, and attorney's fees.
Specific details of the settlement were not revealed, as representatives for both companies and their attorneys were not available for comment.
Koss Patents Apple Allegedly Violated
Koss filed its suit against Apple in July 2020, claiming infringement of multiple patents. These include patents covering wireless earphones using a transceiver circuit, enabling for the streaming of audio from a digital audio player, computer, or wireless network.
Koss said these included such Apple wireless audio products like AirPods, AirPods Pro, and wireless Beats by Dre products.
Another patent comprised configuring wireless devices to work on a wireless network, which was allegedly infringed by the HomePod and Apple Watch.
Koss was granted the patents in 2019, around three years after AirPods were first launched and about 12 years after Apple released its first iPhone Bluetooth headset. Koss likewise began legal action against other headphone competitors in West Texas, such as Bose and Skullcandy, in ongoing infringement cases.
Headphone Market Players 'Caught Up in Koss' Early 2000s Vision'
Koss said in its filing that it had to resort to litigation because the headphone players had "caught up to Koss's early 2000s vision" and the technology it had conceived decades back been standard fare in he headphone industry with "listening ecosystems" based on Koss techniques the company pioneered and patented over a decade ago.
It claimed AirPods were copying technology from its Striva line of WiFi in-ear and over-ear audio devices.
In the Apple suit, Koss sought royalties from Airpod and Beats headphone sales.
For its part, Apple said the Airpod and Beats headphones did not infringe on the Koss patents, which it said were invalid. Apple also sued Koss after Koss filed its lawsuit, saying the complaint revealed confidential information from the two companies' licensing discussions.
As a result, Apple (AAPL) shares fell slightly more than 0.5% to $152.96 in early trading on Monday, while Koss (KOSS) gained more than 35%, Seeking Alpha reported.
