- Google has been ordered to pay $32.5 million to Sonos for infringing on one of its patents in its wireless audio devices. This is part of a larger intellectual property dispute between the former collaborators, which includes other lawsuits in different countries.
- The case highlights the importance of protecting intellectual property in the tech industry, as patents and other forms of intellectual property are critical to the success of many tech companies. It also shows the growing tensions between tech companies that collaborate on products and services.
- The verdict could lead to further legal action against Google as it faces similar lawsuits in other countries and has also been accused of anti-competitive behavior by regulators in the US and Europe.
In a smart-speaker patent case, a US jury has ordered Google to pay Sonos $32.5 million. The case is related to the use of Sonos’s technology in Google’s voice-activated smart speakers. Sonos had accused Google of infringing on its patents for multi-room speaker systems and controlling speakers through a mobile app. The jury found that Google had indeed infringed on five of Sonos’s patents.
The case was filed by Sonos in January 2020, and the trial started in June 2021. Sonos sought damages for Google’s alleged infringement and also requested a ban on the sale of Google’s smart speakers in the US. However, the jury did not grant the injunction.
The case is significant as it could set a precedent for other disputes related to smart speakers and voice assistants. This is not the first time Sonos has been involved in legal battles with tech giants. In 2019, Sonos had settled a patent dispute with Amazon.
Google has not yet commented on the verdict, but the company may appeal the decision. Sonos welcomed the verdict and said that it was “grateful for the jury’s careful attention and pleased with the outcome.”
The $32.5 million award is a significant victory for Sonos, which reported revenues of $1.65 billion in 2020. However, it is a tiny sum for Google, which had a revenue of $182.5 billion in the same year. Nevertheless, the verdict could lead to more licensing agreements between Sonos and other companies that use its technology in their smart speaker products.
The smart speaker market is highly competitive, with Amazon, Apple, and Google being the dominant players. Sonos, which started as a high-end speaker maker, has been trying to expand its presence in the smart speaker market with products such as the Sonos One and the Sonos Beam. The verdict in this patent case could give Sonos a competitive edge against its rivals.