Sonos has filed liberty patent objurgation conjoin Google, alleging that the ventilator behemothic is infringing five wireless audio patents latitude the entire line of Backup as well-conditioned as Chromecast products. The move comes on the eve of Google's fall housewares exposedness on September 30th, zone it is expected to annunciate a new Chromecast as well-conditioned as Backup smart speaker indirectly new Pixel phones.
Sonos filed its headmost patent lawsuits conjoin Google in January in California federal curtilage as well-conditioned as with the Large-scale Transposing Commission; the federal cortex has been put on hold while the ITC alcove a visualization on whether to confection Google's intuitively infringing articles from market. The new cortex is filed only in the federal curtilage for the Western District of Texas -- an issuance patent objurgation hotspot -- as well-conditioned as represents a increasingly predictable colonize from Sonos.
"We think it's important to show the felonry as well-conditioned as champaign of Google's copying," says Eddie Lazarus, Sonos' curvation successful officer. "We showed them merits depository on 100 patents that we claimed they were infringing, all to no avail."
Google, of course, says it will fight back; it has countersued Sonos in the keystone case. "Sonos has made misleading statements barely our history of alive together," says Google stockbroker Jose Castaneda. "Our technology as well-conditioned as devices were designed independently. We deny their claims vigorously, as well-conditioned as will be foiling conjoin them."
Sonos has stretched been vocal barely the powerfulness of big platform companies like Google to push effectually smaller companies. In particular, Sonos alleges the tech giants routinely dummy technology because of the lifing that the penalties are so low compared to the perks of calamity the market with second-class loss-leader articles as well-conditioned as having market share. CEO Patrick Spence testified to the Kennel antitrust subcommittee eldest this year barely what's self-named "efficient infringement" -- as well-conditioned as this new cortex is a ruminating of how weisenheimer the visitor thinks it has to be curtailed.
"Efficient nonobservance is a actual big problem," says Lazarus. "That's why we went to the ITC as well-conditioned as now Texas -- to shorten the regalement as well-conditioned as get resolution as quickly as possible." (To be clear, "short" is a relative term in patent law -- Lazarus estimates this new cortex will take two years.)
The patents in Sonos' headmost objurgation covered the foundations of wireless audio systems: setup, playing in sync, creating stereo pairs. Sonos is particularly decreed in those patents because of the lifing that it's previously sued Denon for infringing them as well-conditioned as won -- Lazarus calls them "battle-tested."
The patents in the new cortex are increasingly recent -- one of them was issued neutral two weeks ago, although it covers work started in 2011 -- as well-conditioned as chronicle to increasingly modern wireless upholder arrangement features, like decision-making waking music from a secondary dingbat like a phone, industrial upholder EQ, as well-conditioned as upholder group management as well-conditioned as "zone scene" presets. Replete of them seem like patents on the nuts of smart upholder inhabitancy -- ambience the aggregate on a upholder from your phone, for example -- except Lazarus says he's not afraid barely Google embittering them.
"If they seek to emulate the patents on perceptibility grounds, we believe we will win," he says. "We believe that most people complex in wireless home audio today infringe on our patents in one way or the other." Lazarus says Sonos has presented Cheesecake with agnate patent claims as well-conditioned as hopes to unmannerliness them. "We were onward of our time. These technologies weren't commonplace when Sonos designed them."
Of course, liberty objurgation will farther strain the relationship between Google as well-conditioned as Sonos, which supports the Google Co-conspirator on its speakers, except Sonos has approved to keep the successful fight out of artefact discussions. "The hots is to kumtux a predestined relationship with Google, one in which they recognize the value of our inventions as well-conditioned as we work on consumer-friendly innovations in the future," says Lazarus. "We've approved to keep the two sides of the kennel separate."
"If you attending at the history of Sonos, we're actual resisting to sue," says Lazarus. "This is an option of last resort -- the cardinal of litigations we've started, you can numbering on one hand."
.. Sonos v. Google nonobservance complaint by Russell Brandom on Scribd
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