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The Stereobelt was a
personal stereo A personal stereo, or personal cassette player, is a portable audio player using an audiocassette player, battery power and in some cases an AM/FM radio. This allows the user to listen to music through headphones while walking, jogging or relaxing ...
player devised by
Andreas Pavel Andreas Pavel is a German-Brazilian cultural producer and media designer who is generally credited with patenting the personal stereo, although his claim in the United Kingdom was revoked after Judges ruled his patent "obvious and not significant ...
, a former television executive and book editor. Pavel filed a
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
of invention for his portable music player in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 1977, and adopted the same protective steps in Germany, United Kingdom, United States, and Japan. He sought royalty fees and later commenced legal proceedings against
Sony Corporation , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
after the
Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...
released commercially in 1979, believing the electronics manufacturer had infringed his
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
. Judges ruled against him,
revoking Revocation is the act of wikt:recall, recall or annulment. It is the cancelling of an act, the recalling of a grant or privilege, or the making void (law), void of some deed previously existing. A temporary revocation of a grant or privilege is c ...
the patent, stating his concept was "not significantly inventive".


Background and history

A former television executive and book editor, Pavel devised the Stereobelt to allow the wearer to play high-fidelity music through
headphones Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...
while participating in daily activities. He states the initial test of prototype hardware took place in February 1972 in St. Moritz,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. After he pushed the play button to start the song Push Push by
Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...
and
Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock guitarist, session musician, and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ...
, he experienced a "floating" sensation as he watched the mountain snow fall, realizing that his device could provide "the means to multiply the aesthetic potential of any situation." Following initial tests of his unit, Pavel told ''The New York times'' that he approached electronics manufacturers such as ITT,
Grundig Grundig (; ) is a German consumer electronics manufacturer owned by the Turkish Arçelik A.Ş., the white goods (major appliance) manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. The company made domestic appliances and personal-care produ ...
,
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
and
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
with his idea, but said he was met with rejection and ridicule. "They all said they didn't think people would be so crazy as to run around with headphones, that this is just a gadget, a useless gadget of a crazy nut". No less deterred and learning that it was important to protect his idea, Pavel filed a patent for the Stereobelt in
Millan Millan or Millán is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Agustín Millán (born 1958), Spanish handball player * Alejandro Millán (born 1980), Mexican musician * Amy Millan (born 1973), Canadian singer ...
, Italy in 1977, followed by applications in Germany and the United Kingdom in 1978, later the United States and Japan.


Legal battle

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
began selling their
Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...
personal stereo player in 1979. The
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
Walkman was a playback only adaptation of the existing Sony Pressman, a compact
cassette recorder A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertainment system, a part of ...
and
portable audio player A portable audio player is a personal mobile device that allows the user to listen to recorded audio while mobile. Sometimes a distinction is made between a ''portable'' player, battery-powered and with one or more small loudspeakers, and a ''pers ...
for journalists released in 1977. In negotiations that began in 1980 and ended in 1986, Sony agreed to pay Pavel limited royalties for the sales of certain Walkman models sold in his home country of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
only (about DM 150,000, almost 1% of Sony's Walkman profit in Germany). A second round of legal battles between Pavel and Sony that began in 1990 through the
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
Patents County Court The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC; previously the Patents County Court or PCC) in London is an alternative venue to the High Court for bringing legal actions involving intellectual property matters such as patents, registered desi ...
ended in 1996 after Judges ruled in Sony's favour, leaving Pavel to pay almost 3 million euros ($3.68 million) in court costs. Sony contended the Walkman evolved from a succession of portable mono and stereo cassette recorders spanning over a decade, starting with the TC-50 in 1968, illustrated in court with chronological charts. They never sought to file patents on the Walkman, its legal team argued, because the technology was innovative but not wholly inventive, rendering any such filing invalid. Counsel representing Sony and
Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...
, who also appeared in opposition, further argued that Pavel's idea consisted of multiple components, namely a belt-like garment that housed an amplifier and battery pack separately, and lacked a stability mechanism to counter movement. Pavel's legal representatives countered that, although the patent describes a stereo system in conjunction with a belt, "his claim covers all personal stereos" and Sony's own charts appeared to show their personal audio equipment getting larger with time, not smaller or more refined. Pavel's legal challenge was lost in 1993 and his patent revoked. Judge Peter Ford adjudicated the patent to be invalid because the technology was "obvious and not significantly inventive". The case proceeded to the Appeals Court where Pavel lost again in 1996. The Court of Appeal reexamined a range of
prior art Prior art (also known as state of the art or background art) is a concept in patent law used to determine the patentability of an invention, in particular whether an invention meets the novelty and the inventive step or non-obviousness criteria f ...
and considered testimony from new witnesses. Various brand models were the subject of dispute, including stereophonic cassette players and radios that supported headphone use; some with small carry handles, others belt clips or shoulder straps. Pavel's team argued that "a belt in the form of a shoulder strap was not for personal wear."Andreas Pavel v Sony Corporation, Sony UK Ltd, Toshiba Ltd. 21 March, 1996. CCRTF 93/1605/B It was submitted that if their client's invention was obvious, as held by the original Judge, such an idea would have been patented sooner. It was the "concept" of a personal stereo player that "changed the listening habits of the world", not the overall product design, which Pavel's team described as "window dressing"; a contention borne out by the "explosive success" of the Walkman. Lord Justice John Hobhouse, Lord Justice
Brian Neill Sir Brian Thomas Neill PC QC (2 August 1923 – 24 December 2017) was a British jurist. He was the son of Sir Thomas Neill, JP and the elder brother of Patrick Neill, Baron Neill of Bladen. He was educated at Highgate School, where he later ...
, and Lord Justice
William Aldous Sir William Aldous (17 March 1936 – 17 March 2018) was an English judge and a judge in the Gibraltar Court of Appeal. Biography Born in Suffolk, Aldous was the son of barrister Guy Aldous QC and his wife, Gill Henson, daughter of Gino Hen ...
disagreed with the
appellant In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
, adducing the Walkman's form factor, minimal operating power, and ability to reproduce high-quality sound at reasonable cost as key reasons for its appeal and popularity. "Although the Walkman was a great commercial success, the attempt to rely upon that success to support invention is fallacious". The ruling was foreshadowed by ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishe ...
'' shortly after the British patent was granted to Pavel in 1982. Claiming a "monopoly" on personal stereo equipment, the magazine cautioned that his application might prove too broad and of no practical legal value. "Sony's breakthrough with Walkman was in the players high quality reproduction, low powered consumption and the tape drives ability to run smoothly, even when the wearer runs." Details for which, the magazine noted, were absent in Pavel's patent. Finally in 2003, with Pavel threatening to file infringement proceedings in the remaining territories where he held protective rights, Sony approached him with a view to settling the matter amicably, which led to both parties signing a contract and confidentiality agreement in 2004. The settlement was reported to be a cash payment in the "low eight figures" and ongoing royalties of the sale of certain Walkman models. After signing the agreement, Pavel told ''
Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' he planned to approach other portable audio manufacturers such as
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
over their digital
iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
media player.


See also

* Astraltune *
Patentability Within the context of a national or multilateral body of law, an invention is patentable if it meets the relevant legal conditions to be granted a patent. By extension, patentability also refers to the substantive conditions that must be met fo ...


References

{{reflist Audio players Brazilian inventions Portable media players