#15: George Lucas-founded THX sues Apple for speaker patent

George Lucas-founded THX sues Apple for speaker patent

    Recently, THX an audio company founded by George Lucas, who is the man behind Star Wars and American Graffiti.  The company was originally part of Lucasfilm, but was eventually spun off as its own company has filed a lawsuit against Apple over clams that the iPhone, iPad, and Mac computer lineup infringe on a 2008 patent – “Narrow profile speaker configurations and systems” it holds for speaker technology.  The patent in question describes a system for a speaker unit that can increase audio and can also connect to computers and flatscreen televisions.

FIG. 1 is an oblique frontal view diagram of a narrow profile speaker unit having a slot for sound output, in accordance with one embodiment as disclosed herein. 

FIGS. 2A and 2B are front and side view diagrams, respectively, of the narrow profile speaker unit of FIG. 1. 

FIGS. 3A is diagram of cross-sectional top view of alternative embodiment of the enclosure of the speaker unit of FIG. 1 with different arrangement of sound damping material in the enclosure.

THX is targeting the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and iPhone 5, along with the iPad and iMac for what it called "narrow-profile speaker units" because of their thin bodies and speaker systems that push sound through ducts and slim openings. The patent references reflective sound surfaces to help route sound outside the device, and looks like it describes the system Apple uses to fit speakers into its slim devices.

Apple ties to THX took an interesting turn in 2011 when it hired Tomlinson Holman, the man that invented the THX sound system and is the name on a long list of THX patents. Mr. Thomlinson was hired to run Apple's own sound technology division, and his involvement may well play a role in the THX lawsuit.

THX v Apple