The Commission instituted Inv. No. 337-TA-1521 after BoomCloud 360 Inc. of Encinitas, California, filed a section 337 complaint on August 14, 2026 (supplemented August 31). The notice of investigation issued September 16, 2026.
Respondents named for service are Apple, Inc.; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Samsung Electronics America, Inc.; and Google LLC. The Office of Unfair Import Investigations is also a party. BoomCloud seeks a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders.
The instituted patents and claim sets are U.S. Patent 10,524,078 (claims 1-23), U.S. Patent 11,533,560 (claims 1-43), and U.S. Patent 11,051,121 (claims 1-30).
U.S. Patent 10,524,078 covers b-chain processing for spatially enhanced stereo: measuring left/right speaker asymmetries in frequency response, time alignment, and level, then adjusting outputs to compensate.
U.S. Patent 11,533,560 covers dynamic audio enhancement that chooses processing based on rendering-system information and metadata about the audio-consumption software on the device.
U.S. Patent 11,051,121 covers spatial enhancement that pairs crosstalk processing with compensation for spectral defects the crosstalk step introduces.
The plain-language scope covers electronic devices with those audio features - including mobile phones and tablets - that use spatial enhancement for stereo speakers (gain on spatial and nonspatial components plus left/right asymmetry adjustments), dynamic enhancement informed by rendering-system metadata, and/or spatial enhancement with crosstalk processing plus spectral-defect compensation.
These are the same three patents BoomCloud asserts in its Western District of Texas Midland complaints against Apple and Google. The BoomCloud 360 campaign page explains the related district-court and declaratory-judgment proceedings. Apple's August 5 Southern District of California declaratory-judgment complaint concerns a different patent trio.
Institution decides only that the complaint warrants an investigation. It does not decide infringement, validity, domestic industry, or remedy. The ALJ will take public-interest evidence under the statutory factors.
Watch respondent answers (due 20 days after Commission service of the complaint and notice), the ALJ assignment and procedural schedule, and any motion practice tying the Midland cases to the ITC track. Also watch the parallel DJ perimeter on the different patent trio: Apple's S.D. Cal. case, Google's and Motorola's N.D. Cal. cases, and Samsung's S.D. Cal. DJ.