Apple has filed a lawsuit asking a US federal court to declare that its iPhones, iPads, AirPods and Beats headphones do not infringe three spatial audio patents held by Boomcloud 360. The complaint, lodged on 5 August in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, comes after Boomcloud filed a series of infringement suits since January against companies that sell or use Apple products, without naming Apple itself as a defendant.

Boomcloud's patents cover techniques for enhancing stereo audio and cancelling crosstalk between speakers, and have previously been cited against carriers AT&T and T-Mobile as well as retailers Walmart, Target and Best Buy over their sale of Apple devices ranging from the iPhone 11 to the iPhone 17. Apple, represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and seeking a jury trial, argues its Spatial Audio features—rolled out with Dolby Atmos support in 2021 and now used by over 90% of Apple Music listeners—do not infringe Boomcloud's patents, and points to Boomcloud's own marketing materials as evidence it believes its technology is used in Apple products.