A Los Angeles jury began deliberations Friday a to decide whether Beats Electronics co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine owe $109 million in headphone-sale royalties to a businessman who claims he handed them the now-iconic product “on a silver platter” over a decade ago, reports Law360.
Monster CEO Noel Lee says in the suit that he and Monster invented the technology behind the Beats headphones. The suit claims that Beats co-founders Iovine and Dre (Andre Young) — both of whom now work for Apple — committed fraud in pirating the headphones away from Lee and Monster.
The suit charged that the Beats co-founders concealed the role of Monster and Lee in designing and engineering the headphone line, as well as educating them about engineering, manufacturing, distributing and selling the headphones that Monster and Lee invented.
Apple bought the steaming music service Beats Music, and Beats Electronics — which makes the Beats headphones, speakers and audio software — in 2014. Apple acquired the two companies for a total of $3 billion, consisting of a purchase price of approximately $2.6 billion and approximately $400 million that vests over time.
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