Audio equipment maker Monster sues Beats over alleged fraud

Audio equipment maker Monster has sued Beats Electronics, owned by Apple, over alleged "fraud and deceit" in the way Beats acquired control of the rights to the popular "Beats by Dr Dre" headphones.

Under a partnership formed in 2008, Monster and Beats developed “Beats by Dr Dre”.

Cut out

According to the legal papers filed this week Monster engineered the success of the headphones and was unfairly cut out before Beats was sold to Apple last year.The complaint names Beats co-founders

Jimmy Iovine

and Dr Dre as well as HTC America Holdings Inc, a unit of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC among others, as defendants.

Mr Iovine is the co-founder of Interscope Records, a rap music pioneer that branched out to include acts like Lady Gaga and U2. Dr Dre is a US rapper and music producer.

In May 2014, Apple bought Beats hoping to win points with the music industry and turn Beats Music into a strong competitor to Spotify and other streaming services.

– (Reuters)