Dr. Dre & Jimmy Iovine Ordered To Pay $25 Mill To Former Partner Who Gave Them Idea Of Celebrity Endorsed Headphones

Jimmy Iovine, Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre & Jimmy Iovine Ordered To Pay $25 Mill To Former Partner Who Gave Them Idea Of Celebrity Endorsed Headphones

Beats by Dre headphones are probably the most trendy headphone brand in pop culture. A lot of this has to do with the company’s marketing and how well they relied on celebrity endorsements. Now, the man who gave the company the idea to involve celebrities in their marketing, is seeing the payday he feels that he deserves.

Steven Lamar, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine‘s former business partner, says he took the idea of celebrity-endorsed headphones to Dre and Iovine in 2006. When the parties fell out a settlement was crafted, however, in 2014 Lamar filed a lawsuit saying that the Beats by Dre co-founders never honored their agreement. At first, the judge dismissed the case but after an appeal, it went to trial.

Dr. Dre & Jimmy Iovine

According to Dre and Iovine,  Lamar was only entitled to royalties from the first model of Beats by Dre headphones. Dre also credited renowned industrial designer, Robert Brunner, with the design of the headphones, saying that he didn’t recall Lamar in any of the meetings in 2006. The jury disagreed, ruling that Lamar fulfilled his end of the agreement and was entitled to the sales of three Beats headphone models, the Studio 2 Remastered, the Studio 2 Wireless and the Studio 3.

Lamar was awarded $25,247,350.

By: Eleven8