Apple has settled an AirPods-related patent infringement lawsuit with audio manufacturer Koss. Koss had accused Apple of infringing on its wireless headphone technology patents with its AirPods and Beats earbuds. Reuters reports that a court filing submitted on Saturday indicated that a settlement has been reached.
With the trial in the case set to begin today, both companies told the Waco, Texas federal court that they had resolved allegations that Apple infringed Koss’ wireless headphone patents. U.S. District Judge Alan Albright dismissed the case with prejudice the same day, which means it cannot be refiled.
Koss also sued other competitors in West Texas, including Bose and Skullcandy. Those cases are now pending in other courts.
Koss first filed the lawsuit in 2020, claiming that AirPods and Beats wireless headphones violated a handful of patents related to wireless headphone technology, which Koss claims to have pioneered. Four of the patents describe wireless earphones that involve a transceiver circuit, enabling a device to stream audio from a digital audio player, computer, or wireless network.
Koss said that Apple was aware of its patents and that they met on several occasions to discuss using them, although Apple eventually decided not to license Koss technology, leading Koss to sue.
Apple countersued, saying that the allegations were “baseless,” that the Koss patents were invalid, and that the lawsuit included confidential information from their licensing discussions.
The case is Koss Corp v. Apple Inc, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, No. 6:20-cv-00665.
