Sonos Sues Google, Alleging Patent Infringement
Speaker company Sonos has filed a lawsuit against Google in two federal court systems, as The New York Times reports. The Santa Barbara-based firm claims that Google knowingly infringed upon patented Sonos technology in the development of their own smart speaker systems, beginning with the launch of the Google Home series. Sonos also alleges that Amazon has similarly infringed upon its technology, with executives telling the Times that they decided to only sue Google as they “couldn’t risk battling two tech giants in court at once.”
Representatives for Google told the Times that the company was “disappointed that Sonos brought these lawsuits instead of continuing negotiations in good faith” and that they denied the claims. A spokesperson for Amazon also denied the claims, stating “The Echo family of devices and our multi-room music technology were developed independently by Amazon.”
The lawsuit filed by Sonos seeks unspecified financial damages, as well as a ban on sales of Google’s speakers, smartphones, and laptops in the United States. The lawsuit specifies five patents that were allegedly infringed upon by Google, though Sonos claims that it believes Google and Amazon each violated “roughly 100” different patents.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
