How to Mix Sound for Different Speaker Setups
This patent describes a system for mixing and playing back audio, allowing sound engineers to precisely control where sounds appear in a room, even preventing sounds from playing through specific speakers.
Original patent title: “System and method for adaptive audio signal generation, coding and rendering”
This patent describes a system for mixing and playing back audio, allowing sound engineers to precisely control where sounds appear in a room, even preventing sounds from playing through specific speakers. Granted to Dolby Laboratories Licensing in 2025 with 13 claims, and it is expected to expire in 2044.
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent covers a system that takes many separate audio tracks, called monophonic audio streams, and mixes them together. Some tracks are 'object-based,' meaning they have specific 3D locations in a virtual space, like a car driving across the screen. Other tracks are 'channel-based,' which are assigned to specific speakers, like the front left or right. The system uses metadata, which is like extra information, to tell a playback device exactly where each sound should come from. Crucially, for object-based sounds, this metadata can also specify if a sound is *not* allowed to play through certain speakers. This lets sound designers ensure a specific effect, like a whisper, doesn't blast from a rear speaker, maintaining the intended immersive experience for the listener in any room setup.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Audio systems that only use channel-based audio without any object-based audio elements.
- Audio systems that do not use metadata to define playback locations for audio streams.
- Audio systems that do not allow for prohibiting specific speaker outputs for object-based audio.
- Audio systems that do not combine multiple monophonic audio streams into a single bitstream.
- Audio systems that only support 2D spatial audio rather than 3D.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
Key facts
What made this novel
The key innovation is the ability to prohibit specific speaker outputs for object-based audio. This provides granular control beyond simply placing sounds, allowing sound designers to avoid unwanted audio bleed or ensure certain effects are localized precisely, even when the playback system has many speakers.
The Patent Drawing
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Dolby Atmos
Modern home theater systems
Immersive gaming audio engines
Advanced movie soundtrack mixing
Why it matters
The bigger picture
Dolby is a major player in audio technology, and this patent is part of their ongoing work to advance immersive sound experiences. Technologies like this are fundamental to modern surround sound and spatial audio formats used in movies, gaming, and music, ensuring consistent and high-quality audio across diverse playback environments.
Filed
April 12, 2024
Granted
June 17, 2025
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp, the assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →, is a dominant force in audio encoding and rendering. Companies developing advanced audio codecs and immersive sound systems for consumer electronics, automotive, and cinema would be interested in this technology.
Market impact
Patents like this from Dolby help define standards and create intellectual property barriers in the competitive spatial audio market. They enable the development of sophisticated audio formats that enhance consumer entertainment experiences and are essential for licensing in professional audio production and consumer playback devices.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent covers a system that takes many separate audio tracks, called monophonic audio streams, and mixes them together. Some tracks are 'object-based,' meaning they have specific 3D locations in a virtual space, like a car driving across the screen. Other tracks are 'channel-based,' which are assigned to specific speakers, like the front left or right. The system uses metadata, which is like extra information, to tell a playback device exactly where each sound should come from. Crucially, for object-based sounds, this metadata can also specify if a sound is *not* allowed to play through certain speakers. This lets sound designers ensure a specific effect, like a whisper, doesn't blast from a rear speaker, maintaining the intended immersive experience for the listener in any room setup.
The clever bit
The key innovation is the ability to prohibit specific speaker outputs for object-based audio. This provides granular control beyond simply placing sounds, allowing sound designers to avoid unwanted audio bleed or ensure certain effects are localized precisely, even when the playback system has many speakers.
What it does not cover
- Audio systems that only use channel-based audio without any object-based audio elements.
- Audio systems that do not use metadata to define playback locations for audio streams.
- Audio systems that do not allow for prohibiting specific speaker outputs for object-based audio.
- Audio systems that do not combine multiple monophonic audio streams into a single bitstream.
- Audio systems that only support 2D spatial audio rather than 3D.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
Patent enters public domain
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
0/40
No citations yet
Claim breadth
9/20
Moderate scope
Recency
20/20
Granted within 5 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$34K – $108K
Midpoint $68K · 17.5 yr remaining · industry ×1.5
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
Claim text not yet imported for this patent
The original legal language
Original claims
13 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Chabanne, C., Tsingos, N. R., & Robinson, C. Q. (2025). How to Mix Sound for Different Speaker Setups (U.S. Patent No. 12,335,718). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12335718/system-and-method-for-adaptive-audio-signal-generation-coding-and-rendering
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How to Mix Sound for Different Speaker Setups cover?
This patent describes a system for mixing and playing back audio, allowing sound engineers to precisely control where sounds appear in a room, even preventing sounds from playing through specific speakers.
Who owns patent US 12335718?
Dolby Laboratories Licensing owns this patent, granted in 2025.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on April 12, 2044, when the invention enters the public domain.
What problem does this patent solve?
Dolby is a major player in audio technology, and this patent is part of their ongoing work to advance immersive sound experiences. Technologies like this are fundamental to modern surround sound and spatial audio formats used in movies, gaming, and music, ensuring consistent and high-quality audio across diverse playback environments.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Audio systems that only use channel-based audio without any object-based audio elements.
Same assignee
More from Dolby Laboratories Licensing
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