Apple sued over noise reduction technology

The Noise Free company has sued Apple for infringing a patent describing a noise reduction technology. Initially, Noise Free had wanted to sell its technology to Apple, but the latter chose a different company.

According to court documents released online, Apple is being sued for patent infringement No. 7,742,790. It describes a technique by which noise reduction and cancellation can be achieved in a mobile device. The patent in question is allegedly infringed by Apple in all iPad models, as well as the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

The documents also show that Noise Free claims to have shown the technology in question to Apple several times. The latter is said to be interested in the noise reduction technology, after which the two companies held talks. However, Apple decided not to license the Noise Free technology and subsequently filed a patent for a technique that describes noise reduction.

Apple would also have used technology developed by the Audience company for its tablets and smartphones. This company was also sued by Noise Free for infringing the aforementioned patent. In addition, Noise Free wants compensation from both companies. Apple’s patent application should also be declared invalid.

The technique in question uses two microphones to record sound. This includes software that recognizes background noise or noise and filters it out of the sound recording.