Dr. Dre is no stranger to a lawsuit, usually on the receiving end though. This time the music mogul is on the other side-- his company, Beats Electronics, has filed a lawsuit against Yamaha for copying their famous headphone design.
AHH reports that lawyers for Beats Electronics filed the lawsuit against Yamaha Corporation last week in California. The lawsuit claims that Yamaha's line of "Pro" headphones look extremely similar to the Beats design.
The lawsuit states, "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. In fact the design of the Beats headphones has been a significant driver of the commercial success of the products."
According to Beats, consumers will be confused by the similarity between the two headphone lines. On top of this, Yamaha has been running adds that make use of Dre's name and Beats Electronics' name.
In November 2012 Beats gave a warning to Yamaha's counsel about the infringement. However, Yamaha did not stop marketing the look-a-like headphones.
Dr. Dre is suing Yamaha for at least $75,000 in damages, claiming trade dress infringement, unfair competition as well as patent infringement.
Check out photos of either headphones below.
