Jury: Dr. Dre's Beats headphones owe $ 25 million to ex-partner

Andrew Dalton, entertainment writer Ap

Updated 17h28, Wednesday 27 June 2018

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A jury said on Wednesday that Dr. Dre, music magnate Jimmy Iovine and his Beats Electronics LLC helmet company owed a former partner $ 25.2 million in royalties.

The Los Angeles Superior Court Jury concluded on Wednesday with a 9-3 margin that Beats violated a contract with Steven Lamar and his company Jibe Audio.

Dr. Dre and Iovine, the music producer and co-founder of Interscope Records, were not in court for the verdict. Both testified during the three-week trial and sat in the audience for opening statements.

The suit said that Lamar in 2006 came to Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, with the idea of ​​a celebrity endorsed helmet. Lamar's lawyers argued that he owed him more than $ 130 million for a dozen different headphone models.

The defendants acknowledged that Lamar was involved in the original plans, but argued that he was only liable for one product, the original Studio model, and that he was already paid.

"The jury really validated our theory of the case, that Mr. Lamar was involved in the founding of Beats," said Lamar's lawyer, Stephen E. Morrissey, on the outside of the court. "It's not all we asked for, but we are happy."

Lamar said the price could rise due to future sales of headphones still in the market.

Beats' lawyers refused to comment outside the court.

A minimum of nine jurors had to agree to render a verdict.

The verdict, rendered after three days of deliberation, did not break down the separate amounts to be paid by each defendant. Beats, which added a music streaming service after its inception in 2006 as a headset company, was bought out by Apple under a $ 3 billion deal in May 2014. The lawsuit was filed. four months earlier.

Apple representatives did not immediately respond to phone calls and emails requesting comments.

The $ 25.2 million price is a pocket change for Apple. Based on the profits of the past year, it generates on average as much income every hour of the day.

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