Google has simply been hit with a $32.5 million penalty for infringing on a patent held by Sonos. According to Law360, a California federal jury ordered the fantastic after figuring out that Google infringed on a patent Sonos holds referring to grouping audio system to allow them to play audio on the identical time, one thing the corporate has been doing for years.
US District Decide William Alsup had already decided that early model of merchandise just like the Chromecast Audio and Google House infringed on Sonos’ patent; the query was whether or not more moderen, revamped merchandise had been additionally infringing on the patent. The jury present in favor of Sonos, however determined a second patent — one which pertains to controlling units by way of a smartphone or different gadget — wasn’t violated. They mentioned that Sonos hadn’t convincingly proven that the Google House app infringed on that specific patent. This follows the dismissal of 4 different patent violations that Sonos initially sued over.
Google offered Engadget with the next assertion: “It is a slim dispute about some very particular options that aren’t generally used. Of the six patents Sonos initially asserted, just one was discovered to be infringed, and the remainder had been dismissed as invalid or not infringed. We now have at all times developed expertise independently and competed on the advantage of our concepts. We’re contemplating our subsequent steps.”
Sonos offered Engadget with the next assertion: “We’re deeply grateful for the jury’s time and diligence in upholding the validity of our patents and recognizing the worth of Sonos’s invention of zone scenes. This verdict re-affirms that Google is a serial infringer of our patent portfolio, because the Worldwide Commerce Fee has already dominated with respect to 5 different Sonos patents. In all, we imagine Google infringes greater than 200 Sonos patents and at the moment’s damages award, primarily based on one essential piece of our portfolio, demonstrates the distinctive worth of our mental property. Our purpose stays for Google to pay us a good royalty for the Sonos innovations it has appropriated.”
Immediately’s findings looks like a win for Sonos, who initially filed go well with in opposition to Google all the best way back in January of 2020. Particularly, Sonos claimed that Google gained data of the patent by means of prior collaboration between the 2 corporations, again they collaborated to permit for integration between Sonos’s audio system and Google Play Music.
Since then, Google counter-sued Sonos, claiming that Sonos had in actual fact infringed its personal patents round sensible audio system. As with all good authorized battle, Sonos then expanded its own lawsuit a number of months later. Extra just lately, Google sued Sonos in 2022, saying that its new voice assistant infringed on seven patents referring to the Google Assistant.
Whether or not at the moment’s resolution will sluggish the authorized battle between the 2 corporations stays to be seen, although we would anticipate the bickering to proceed full-throttle within the months to come back. There are many fits on the market between the businesses that are not but resolved, and we would anticipate Google to attraction this resolution as effectively.
Replace, Might twenty sixth 2023, 5:30PM ET: Added a press release from Google.
Replace, Might twenty sixth 2023, 8:00PM ET: Added a press release from Sonos.
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