As the offending noise continued in a loop, Mr. Gilbert turned in its direction and pointedly asked that the phone be turned off.

WSJ: New York Philharmonic Halted by iPhone During Mahler's Ninth Symphony

The firm maintains that it had been pitching its patented noise cancellation to Apple in periodic meetings between 2007 and 2010, only to watch as 1 Infinite Loop used Audience's technology for the iPhone 4 instead -- and supposedly handed some of Noise Free's work to a competitor.

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