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MONSTER VS. MONSTER

Audio-device maker Monster said on Tuesday that Apple has revoked its authority to make licensed accessories for Apple devices in retaliation for Monster suing Beats Electronics January, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Monster had been making licensed accessories, including Lightning charging cables and headphones, for Apple devices under Apple’s MFi (short for “Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad”) program since 2005. MFi gives third-party manufacturers components, technical support and a certification logo to ensure that those accessories will work with Apple products. Roughly 900 of Monster’s 4,000+ products were made through the MFi program. Some of Monster’s accessories were sold at Apple Stores.

Monster general counsel David Tognotti, said Noreen Krall, Apple’s chief litigation counsel, told him that their agreement was being terminated effective May 5 because the relationship between the two companies is no longer “mutually beneficial” in the wake of Monster’s lawsuit. According to Tognotti, Krall said the suit would “destroy the working relationship” between Apple and Monster.

Monster can continue to sell the Apple-licensed accessories through September, but had to stop manufacturing new ones.

Tognotti said he told Apple that the move would significantly disrupt Monster’s business and that the two companies had worked well for years, with Monster paying Apple $12m+ in licensing fees since 2008.

“It shows a side of Apple that consumers don’t see very often,” Tognotti told the WSJ. “Apple can be a bully.”

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

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