Google loses patent war against Sonos, court bars import and sell of some devices

• Google said it does not expect the decision to affect its ability to import or sell its products

• Sonos said Google can pay royalties for its patent and settle the case

U.S. trade court barred Alphabet Inc’s Google late Thursday from importing and selling some of its phones, laptops and internet-connected speakers made overseas that infringed home-audio company Sonos Inc’s smart-speaker patents.

The International Trade Commission of the United States issued the ban Thursday after affirming an August decision that Google audio products infringed five Sonos patents.

The ruling said Google would be barred from importing “networked speaker devices” and devices that can control them like mobile phones and laptops.

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While the ITC order doesn’t name specific devices, the case involved a broad range of Google products with audio systems, like the Nest Hub, Nest Wifi point, Pixel smartphones and Pixelbook laptops.

However, the products that Google redesigned to avoid infringing the patents won’t be barred from importing, the order said.

Sonos' and Google’s comment

“We will seek further review and continue to defend ourselves against Sonos’ frivolous claims about our partnership and intellectual property,” Google said, mentioning that it does not expect the decision to affect its ability to import or sell its products.

Sonos’ Chief Legal Officer Eddie Lazarus called the ruling an “across-the-board” win. He said Google can avoid the blockade is to “degrade or eliminate product features.”

“While Google may sacrifice consumer experience in an attempt to circumvent this importation ban, its products will still infringe many dozens of Sonos patents, its wrongdoing will persist, and the damages owed Sonos will continue to accrue,” the company said in a statement. “Alternatively, Google can -- as other companies have already done -- pay a fair royalty for the technologies it has misappropriated.”

Patent war

Google has 60 days for the presidential review period, by which the Biden administration can veto the exclusion order on public policy grounds and implement pre-approved software changes to avoid the ban.

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The two companies have been involved in a global patent war over multi-room audio technology since 2020, including court cases in California, Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Sonos first sued Google in Los Angeles, alleging the internet giant misused its technology in “more than a dozen different infringing products”, and Google responded with a lawsuit in San Francisco, alleging Sonos used “substantial volumes” of its technology without permission for several products, including controller apps and its Sonos Radio service.

Picture Credit: CNET