Apple's Beats Electronics division today lost a lawsuit levied against it by Steven Lamar, who had a hand in the development of the Beats brand.

According to Bloomberg, a jury today decided that Lamar is entitled to $25 million due to a disputed settlement in 2007 with Beats co-founders and Apple execs Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.

beatsstudiowireless
Lamar signed over the rights to the Beats design in exchange for royalties back in 2006. He claimed that under the terms of the settlement, he was owed royalties on all Beats models, while Dre and Iovine said he was entitled to royalties only on the original Studio model released in 2008, leading to a legal dispute.

The jury awarded Lamar royalties on all models of the Studio Beats headphones, but not on other models, an amount that could add up to a total of $40 million when interest and attorney fees are taken into account.

Lamar in 2006 claims to have shown a headphone design to Iovine, who recommended Dr. Dre as an endorser, creating the partnership that led to the creation of Beats Electronics. Lamar then helped to develop the Beats brand and the concept behind the headphones until he had a falling out with Iovine and Dre in 2006.

Apple purchased the Beats brand in 2014 for $3 billion, with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre (otherwise known as Andre Young) joining Apple at that time. Since then, Apple has continued to sell products under the Beats label.

Tag: Beats

Top Rated Comments

Danoc Avatar
89 months ago
-
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
89 months ago
Good. Purchasing Beats has been the biggest mistake CEO Cook did during his mandate.
Objectively or subjectively? I'm guessing subjectively cuz objectively you'd be wrong.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
89 months ago
Good. I can't stand those two!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Danoc Avatar
89 months ago
-
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lunarworks Avatar
89 months ago
$25M is reasonable, considering the price they paid for Beats.

Good. Purchasing Beats has been the biggest mistake CEO Cook did during his mandate.
lol, how? They got Apple Music out if it, which many people are satisfied with.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
89 months ago
Objectively. Apple and Beats have different demographics, different types of branding. Apple is a higher end, more thoughtful technology company. You don’t expect Burberry to merge with H&M.

I don’t care the earnings, nobody wants Apple to buy Coca Cola.

Apple didn’t need an audio company to do products. The AirPods are the best, small wireless headphones ever created, under Apple’s umbrella, under Apple’s branding. I expect the same thing next year with over ear noise cancelling headphones. Then Apple will retire Beats.
One of us doesn't seem to know what objective means, objectively speaking.:D Your analysis is entirely subjective and you double down on it by trying to dismiss the most objective criteria - the numbers. Even your subjective evaluation misses it's mark. Apple sold Beats in their stores and online well before they acquired the company so... yeah. That description of higher end and more thoughtful - even more subjective.

Here. Maybe this will help.:)
ob·jec·tive
əbˈjektiv/
adjective
[LIST=1]
* (of a person or their judgment) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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