A U.S. federal court has dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Empower Tribe, the parent company of Behringer and TC Electronic, against Roland Corporation over Boss’ use of polyphonic guitar tuning technology.
The court ruled that the patent underlying the case was not eligible for protection under U.S. patent law because it described an abstract concept rather than a patentable invention. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Empower Tribe cannot refile the same claim, and the court also denied its request to amend the complaint.
The dispute had prompted Boss to temporarily remove the polyphonic tuning feature from several of its multi-effects processors through firmware updates.
With the case dismissed, Roland has secured a major legal victory, although it has not yet confirmed whether the feature will return to affected products. Empower Tribe may still appeal the ruling.
