Beat Electronics, in case you haven't been paying much attention this year, has brought in a lot of money recently. The company sold for $3 billion to the Apple company, which is no small sum. The company, best known for its line of headphones designed in part by Dr. Dre, is looking out for more ways to make money however. A new lawsuit from the company is aimed at several Chinese companies responsible for counterfeit products resembling Beats by Dre.
If you live in New York City (and we do), you know that counterfeit Beats can be found anywhere. Street sales in Washington Heights or small shops in Chinatown are stocked full of Beats Solos for the miraculous prices of anywhere between $20-$40. Some feature a "d" instead of a "b" on one ear, to indicate the maker "wasn't trying" to replicate a Beats product. Even those who haven't bought into fake headphones know they exist, like when you can hear every bass blast from the supposedly noise-canceling headphones on the head of the guy next to you on the train.
So how much is the fake headphone racket costing Beats Electronics?
According to the lawsuit, counterfeiters cost Beats an astonishing $135 billion. Finding out who actually makes the products is a tough task because presumably all the companies are based in China. Beats is aiming its lawsuit at websites that peddle the fake goods instead, seeking to take ownership of the sites marketing knockoff products. Oh, and the company is also seeking to be reimbursed for all the profits gathered selling the knockoff products. Yeah, $135 billion. If Forbes is correct and Dre isn't a billionaire yet, winning this suit will push him over that mark for sure.
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