Google will pay Sonos $32.5 million for patent infringement

For several years, the two companies have been in a court dispute over the technology in smart speakers.

Google is now forced to pay $32.5 million for infringing patents owned by Sonos. According to Law360, a California jury decided that Google infringed a patent related to bundling speakers so they could play audio at the same time for several years. Judge William Alsop also previously determined that early versions of Chromecast Audio and Google Home infringed Sonos patents.

The patent relating to the control of devices via a smartphone or other device Google got away with it. The jury said Sonos failed to prove that the Google Home app infringed that patent. Four more patent violations that Sonos has sued Google for have been invalidated.

“This is a small dispute over some very specific features that are difficult to use. Of the six patents that Sonos sued us, only one was deemed infringed by us, while the rest were invalidated or not deemed infringed. We have always developed technology independently and competed On the merits of our own ideas. We are considering our next step.” Google statement for Engadget.

The result can be counted as a win for Sonos, which sued Google Already in January 2020. As it seems, this will not be the last duel between the companies in court.

“We are extremely grateful for the jury’s time and diligence in validating our patents and acknowledging the value of Sonos’ speaker assembly technology. This ruling confirms that Google continually infringes on our patent portfolio, which was previously established on five other Sonos patents. In all “We believe Google infringes more than 200 Sonos patents, and today’s damages demonstrate the exceptional value of our property. Our goal remains that Google pay us a fair fee on all of the Sonos innovations they use.” Sonos statement to Engadget.

via: Engadget