Days after the Samsung owned Harman announced that they were acquiring arch rival Masimo Consumer the former Sound United business, it’s been revealed that Harman has moved to take down Vox International the owners of Premium Audio Company and the Klipsch Group claiming their rival is breaching 13 Harman owned Party Box patents.

Harman who own JBL the world’s #1 party box Company has filed an action in a US Court claiming that the Voxx/Klipsch group that was sold last year to Gentex, a US $2.3 billion auto parts maker of infringing their party box patents with their ‘Gig party speaker’ and their ‘Gig XXL speakers.

The alleged theft of patents was discovered back June of 2023 when the struggling US audio Company Klipsch which at this stage was up for sale began introducing their own line of party speakers called Gig XXL that Harman claims mirrored their PartyBox – portable Bluetooth speakers.

Currently JBL has over 75% of the global party box market.

Harman’s lawsuit points out that a Klipsch Gig party speaker retails for substantially less than the comparable JBL PartyBox at retailers which in Australia includes Digital Cinema, Apollo Hi Fi and West Coast Hi Fi.

Distributed by Melbourne based Westan the fight is currently being played out in the US District Court.

Back in September 2023, Harman reached out by email to Paul Jacobs, the president and CEO of Klipsch, asking the company to immediately stop manufacturing, importing, distributing, and selling the Accused Products.

Harman identified several of the patents Klipsch was infringing.

In a few days, the matter was escalated up the food chain to Pat Lavelle, President and CEO of Voxx International.

After a third attempt to settle the matter with no success, Harman moved to take legal action against Vox and Klipsch claiming that the design of the Klipsch party speaker is a deceptive imitation of the designs claimed in the [Harman] Asserted Patents and is substantially the same in overall appearance through the eye of an ordinary observer.

The claim that specifically, the ordinary observer seeking to purchase a portable powered speaker would be so deceived as to purchase the Accused Product rather than a JBL Party Box Speakers, believing the Accused Product to be substantially the same as the claimed designs of the Asserted Patents.

In late October, Voxx proposed a redesign of the offending products in light of the Asserted Patents.

Harman was apparently open to that but claims that “Voxx never implemented this redesign.”

Harman has told the court that “Defendants knew of and/or were wilfully blind to the Asserted Patents”…”Klipsch and Voxx have continued to manufacture and sell the Accused product” and the ”Defendants’ actions are causing and are likely to continue causing monetary damages, including lost profits.” They claimed.

Harman laid out thirteen causes of action, centred around each of the thirteen Harman patents.

On October 27, 2023, Klipsch who by this stage were desperate to not compromise the sale of the business responded revealing new redesign details, in particular various redesigned light modes.

Harman who after receiving the details of the redesign failed to respond and immediately moved to take legal action seeking damages.

The court has been told that they are seeking:
A judgment of infringement of each of the Asserted Patents by Voxx/Klipsch

A judgment against Voxx/Klipsch for its total profits generated by the sale of any item that infringed on the Asserted Patents in an amount to be determined at trial.

Payment for damages sustained as a result of Voxx/Klipsch’s infringement.

A full accounting of Voxx/Klipsch’s profit, as provided by law.

A finding of this case as “exceptional” under law, and an award of costs and attorneys’ fees.

An award of pre- and post-judgment interest on the damages caused by this infringement.

And any other relief as the Court may deem just and proper.