Judge dismisses Behringer’s patent lawsuit against Boss over tuning pedals
Behringer’s lawsuit against Boss, claiming that a polyphonic tuner found within Boss multi-effects is a “knock-off” of the TC Electronic Polytune, has been dismissed on the grounds of the ineligibility of the original patent, which was found to be too abstract.
READ MORE: Behringer takes Boss to court over alleged patent infringement
Behringer and TC Electronic’s parent company Empower Tribe had brought the suit against Boss parent company Roland last year, alleging that the polyphonic tuning mode in Boss’ GT‑1000, GT‑1000CORE, GX‑100, and GX‑10 multi-effects pedals infringed on its patent for the system used in the TC Electronic PolyTune.
In response, Boss filed a motion to dismiss, mostly on the basis that Behringer’s patent does not actually demonstrate the required “inventive concept”. Under US patent law, you can’t patent abstract concepts or physical phenomena, nor can you simply apply existing hardware to a generic problem and patent the application. Behringer’s defence of the PolyTune’s patent stated that, although it used “generic computer components”, the “inventive concept” was found in the “non-conventional and non-generic arrangement of known, conventional pieces” – specifically in creating a mode-dependent display for a user-selectable two-mode monophonic/polyphonic tuner.
However, the court sided with Boss, and its motion to dismiss has now been granted, and the case has been dismissed with prejudice. (This doesn’t bar Behringer from attempting to re-open the case, but it will have to find a different argument if it wants to do so). The court’s decision was that “nothing in the claim limitations, considered individually and together as a whole, is sufficient to transform the [Empower/Behringer’s] Asserted Claims into a patent-eligible invention”, and Boss was successful in arguing that these claims “only describe generic computer components”.
The judge also found that it would be “futile” to grant the plaintiffs leave to amend their arguments, as patent ineligibility is “a defect that cannot be cured by amendment” – meaning Behringer does not get the chance to immediately re-assert this case, as the patent underlying its suit is not enforceable. While Behringer may still technically hold the patent for now, it’s unlikely it will ever be able to use it in a similar case, given the precedent set here.
The dismissal marks a relatively major loss for Behringer, which had already courted controversy by filing the suit in the first place. Many in the wider gear community were quick to point to Behringer’s controversial approach to trade dress. Recently this includes a legal clash with Klon, LLC, over Behringer’s Klon Centaur copy that almost directly replicated the pedal’s artwork, and shared its name. Behringer subsequently changed the name of its pedal from “Centaur” to “Zentara”, along with a number of visual design elements. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.
This is also not the first time Boss and Behringer have clashed in the courts – Boss sued Behringer in 2005 over the appearance of many of its effects pedals. The suit was ultimately settled under confidential terms.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
