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Music mogul Dr. Dre is suing electronics giant Yamaha, over headphones the company is manufacturing, which Dr. Dre claims infringes upon his Beats Electronics patents.
Lawyers for Beats Electronics filed the lawsuit against Yamaha Corporation of America last week, in US District Court, Central District of California.
The lawsuit claims that Yamaha is marketing a line of “PRO” headphones that copy the design of Dr. Dre’s world-famous Beats line of headphones.
“Consumers appreciated the design, as well as the sound quality, of Beats and began wearing the Beats headphones around their necks as a fashion accessory even when not listening to music,” the lawsuit reads. “In fact the design of the Beats headphones has been a significant driver of the commercial success of the products.”
According to Dr. Dre, a side-by-side comparison of Yamaha’s “PRO” is so similar, that it will confuse consumers.
To make matters worse, Yamaha is running ads that trade-off of Dr. Dre’s name and the Beats name as well.
In November 2012, Dr. Dre’s lawyers fired off a warning to Yamaha’s counsel, informing them of their infringement.
But, Yamaha continues to market the knock off line of headphones.
Dr. Dre is suing for at least $75,000 in damages, claiming Trade Dress Infringement, Unfair Competition and Patent Infringement.
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