Google Found to Infringe on Sonos Patents, May be Forced to Halt Import of Product

Google has been found in violation of five Sonos patents. The US International Trade Commission has determined that Google has infringed on said patents relating to smart speakers. Thus, Google may be forced to terminate imports of the products that utilize the technology.

According to The New York Times, Google was indeed found guilty of violating Sonos’ patents. The report does not specify which products are integrated with technology inspired by Sonos’ smart speakers. On top of that, it may be likely that Google will not be impacted by halting imports.

José Castañeda, a Google spokesman has disagreed with the judge’s ruling. “We will seek further review and continue to defend ourselves against Sonos’s frivolous claims about our partnership and intellectual property,” Castañeda said in a statement.

Eddie Lazarus, the chief legal officer at Sonos said:

“We appreciate that the I.T.C. has definitively validated the five Sonos patents at issue in this case and ruled unequivocally that Google infringes all five. That is an across-the-board win that is surpassingly rare in patent cases.”

Sonos had claimed that Google had infringed on more than 100 of the company’s patents. It was proposed by the company that Google enter a licensing deal. Though, the two companies were unable to sync up in that regard.

Google’s main source of revenue is advertising. Hardware, especially its latest hardware that would be tied to this, only makes up a small amount of the company’s overall revue. In fact, what the ordeal does is damages the company’s optics. Both consumer and potential partner relationships could be affected by this ordeal.