Google hit Sonos with two lawsuits on Monday, alleging patent infringement of seven different technologies associated with smart speakers, as part of its ongoing battle with the audio hardware business over intellectual property .
The two companies previously collaborated on software to support audio devices, but their relationship soured when Sonos went on the wail two years ago, alleging that Google had copied five of its patents after it the search giant launched its Google Home voice-activated speaker. The patents describe how smart speakers can play music wirelessly in different rooms.
Google, in turn, countersued, claiming that Sonos had in fact stolen the IP for five of its patents related to content availability search, noise control, and more.
Sonos responded by filing another lawsuit, claiming Google had ripped off more than five of its patents over the years. The US International Trade Commission sided with the speaker business in its original lawsuit, agreeing that Google had infringed five of Sonos’ IP applications. Google engineers scrambled to make software changes to their products to avoid a judge’s decision to ban imported devices based on Sonos technology in the US.
However, Google is not letting the matter rest and has decided to sue Sonos again. The two lawsuits, filed in the Northern District Court of California in San Francisco, claim that their rivals have infringed US patent numbers: 10,593,330, 10,134,398 and 7,705,565 in one complaint. [PDF]and 11,024,311, 9,812,128, 9,632,748 and 11,050,615 in the other [PDF]. These patents cover a wide range of applications, ranging from wireless charging to active word detection and audio input monitoring.
Google said it was “proud” of its “multi-year partnership” with the smart speaker business, and even made its virtual Google Assistant available on Sonos speakers. “Sonos has made false claims about the companies’ shared work and Google’s technology in the lawsuits Sonos filed against Google. Although Google rarely sues other companies for patent infringement, it must assert its rights to intellectual property here,” he alleged.
“Instead of competing on the basis of innovation and product quality, Sonos has decided to compete in the courtroom and has launched an aggressive and deceptive campaign against our products, at the expense of our shared customers,” said José Castañeda, Google spokesperson. Sign up : We prefer innovation to litigation, but their actions leave us with no choice but to defend our technology and challenge Sonos’ clear and continued infringement of our patents.”
Sonos chief legal officer Eddie Lazarus hit back, saying Google’s latest IP theft alleges a “scare tactic” to retaliate against the company. “Google has previously sued us around the world, and Sonos has prevailed in every settled case. Instead, courts have repeatedly validated Sonos’ claims that Google is infringing its core patented smart speaker technology.” , he told The Register.
“Google’s new lawsuits are a scare tactic designed to retaliate against Sonos for speaking out against Google’s monopolistic practices, avoid paying Sonos a fair royalty for the approximately 200 patents it is currently infringing, and remove a smaller competitor whose innovations it has appropriated. will not succeed.” ®