Sonos wins Google import ban ruling in U.S. patent fight

Google
The Google title is shown outside the company’s business in London, Britain November one, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A US commercial courtroom has banned Google  from importing items that infringe the wise speaker patents of the home audio enterprise Sonos.


The US International Trade Fee upheld a ruling in August  that Google’s audio items infringe 5 Sonos patents and have banned Google from importing “community speaker products” and products that can manage them, this kind of as mobile telephones and laptops.
The ruling claims it won’t stop Google  from importing items that it has redesigned to keep away from patent infringement. A Google spokesman said he did not hope the determination to have an affect on his capacity to import or sell its items.

“We will  keep on to look into and defend ourselves against the frivolous claims by Sonos relating to our association and our mental house,” said the enterprise.
Eddie Lazarus, Sonos’ main legal officer, termed the verdict a “crusader” victory. Google’s items nonetheless infringe  patents even although they tried to build them.

Sonos’ stock was up one.five% in late morning buying and selling on Friday, having before risen more than 3%.

The get-togethers have been embroiled in a worldwide patent war in excess of multi-place audio technological know-how considering the fact that 2020 that involves courtroom scenarios in California, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, according to a Sonos regulatory submitting.

Sonos very first sued Google in Los Angeles, alleging the enterprise misused its technological know-how in “more than a dozen unique infringing items”, like Google Property speakers and Pixel telephones, tablets, and laptops.


Google reacted with its very own lawsuit in San Francisco, developing Sonos “substantial quantities” of its technological know-how without permission for multiple items, like controller apps and radio Sonos support.

At the ITC, Sonos had been trying to block Google from importing Property speakers, Pixel telephones and other items from China.