US ITC opens patent probe into Samsung, Apple, and Google over audio technology

BoomCloud 360 alleges that devices incorporating spatial-audio technologies infringe three US patents and seeks a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has opened a Section 337 investigation into Apple, Samsung, and Google following allegations that certain electronic devices incorporating audio technologies infringe three patents asserted by California-based BoomCloud 360 Inc. The investigation, Certain Electronic Devices with Certain Audio Technologies, Inv. No. 337-TA-1521, was instituted on September 16. BoomCloud filed its complaint on August 14 and submitted a supplement on August 31.

BoomCloud is seeking a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders covering products that it alleges infringe the asserted patents. The ITC’s institution of the investigation does not constitute a finding that infringement has occurred.

Three patents at issue

The investigation concerns three US patents:

• US Patent No. 10,524,078, Crosstalk Cancellation B-Chain;
• US Patent No. 11,533,560, Dynamic Rendering Device Metadata-Informed Audio Enhancement System; and
• US Patent No. 11,051,121, Spectral Defect Compensation for Crosstalk Processing of Spatial Audio Signals.

The ITC is investigating claims 1–23 of the ‘078 patent, 1–43 of the ‘560 patent, and 1–30 of the ‘121 patent.

The patents concern different aspects of spatial and enhanced audio processing. The ‘078 patent addresses spatial enhancement and compensation for asymmetries between left and right speakers, including differences in frequency response, timing, and signal level. The ‘560 patent concerns dynamic audio enhancement using information about the audio-rendering device and associated metadata. The ‘121 patent concerns compensation for spectral defects arising from crosstalk processing of spatial-audio signals.

The three patents form the same patent group that BoomCloud has asserted in related federal-court litigation against Apple and Google in the Western District of Texas.

Apple, Samsung, and Google named as respondents

The ITC has identified four respondents:

• Apple Inc.
• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
• Samsung Electronics America Inc.
• Google LLC.

The inclusion of both Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics America means the investigation names the Korean parent company and its US subsidiary separately.

The ITC describes the investigation as concerning the importation into the US and sale of certain electronic devices with the specified audio technologies. The Commission’s public institution notice does not itself provide a simple consumer-facing list of affected product models.

BoomCloud alleges that the respondents’ devices incorporating the relevant technologies infringe claims of the three patents. Those allegations remain untested at this stage.

Potential import restrictions

The requested remedies give the case particular significance. BoomCloud has asked the ITC to issue a limited exclusion order, which could exclude covered infringing products from entry into the US, together with cease-and-desist orders. The complaint alleges violations arising from the importation, sale for importation, and sale within the US after importation of the accused products. The requested remedies are not currently in force.

The ITC expressly stated that, by instituting the investigation, it has not made any decision on the merits. The Commission will determine whether the allegations ultimately establish a violation of Section 337.

A broader patent dispute

The ITC investigation is part of a wider series of disputes between BoomCloud and major technology companies, although it is important not to conflate the patents involved in the different proceedings.

Apple filed a declaratory-judgment action against BoomCloud in the Southern District of California on August 5, seeking declarations of noninfringement concerning US Patent Nos. 10,313,820, 10,721,564, and 10,757,527. Those are different patents from the three patents now under investigation at the ITC.

BoomCloud subsequently filed patent-infringement actions in the Western District of Texas against Apple and Google involving the ‘078, ‘121, and ‘560 patents that are now the subject of the ITC investigation. The Apple action was filed on August 13, with the Google action filed the same day. The distinction is significant because the ITC investigation does not concern the three patents in Apple’s California declaratory-judgment action.

Samsung has also filed a separate declaratory-judgment action concerning the other patent trio, while additional declaratory-judgment litigation involving those patents has been filed by Google and Motorola. The result is a broader multi-forum patent dispute involving different patent groups and proceedings.

What happens next?

The ITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the investigation to an administrative law judge (ALJ), who will schedule and conduct an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will ultimately issue an initial determination addressing whether a violation of Section 337 has occurred. That determination can be reviewed by the Commission.

The respondents are required to respond to the complaint within 20 days after receiving the notice of investigation, according to the ITC’s announcement. The Commission will establish a target date for completing the investigation within 45 days after institution. If the investigation eventually results in an ITC remedial order, the Commission states that Section 337 remedial orders become effective when issued and become final 60 days later unless disapproved by the US Trade Representative for policy reasons during that period.

For now, the case places three of the world’s largest technology companies into a single ITC investigation focused on patented technologies used in spatial and enhanced audio processing, with the possibility of import-related remedies ultimately at stake.

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