Beats sues headphone startup CEO for saying he's a co-founder (updated)
Beats isn't happy that ROAM CEO Steven Lamar is taking credit for co-founding its headphone business and demanding extra royalties -- it's firing back with a lawsuit of its own. The Apple-owned company claims that Lamar "deliberately misrepresented" his involvement in its early days. He didn't have an ownership role in the company, Beats says, and Jibe Audio (which Lamar once ran) reportedly wasn't responsible for any aspects of its initial headphone designs. We've reached out to ROAM for Lamar's response, although we can't imagine that he'll take the lawsuit lying down. Much of ROAM's credibility is based on the connection to Beats, and it becomes just another audio company if it loses those bragging rights.
Update: ROAM has responded. To no one's surprise, it's unhappy -- it argues the lawsuit is full of "erroneous and unsubstantiated claims," and that Lamar's key role in Beats has been known for years. He never said he was an employee or shareholder, ROAM insists. The firm also hopes for an "immediate and positive resolution" to the suit, but we wouldn't count on that happening.
[Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images]
