Google Infringed on Sonos Speaker Technology, Trade Court Rules
The New York Times
The company will not be allowed to import products that infringe on Sonos patents, including smart speakers, video streaming devices, and some computers and phones.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Google infringed on five audio technology patents held by the speaker manufacturer Sonos and is not allowed to import products that violate Sonos’s intellectual property into the United States, a trade court ruled on Thursday.
The final ruling by the United States International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial body that decides trade cases and can block the import of goods that violate patents, closes a two-year investigation into the intellectual-property dispute.
Sonos had asked the trade commission to block imports of Google products that the speaker company says infringes on its patents. They include Google Home smart speakers, Pixel phones and computers, and the Chromecast streaming video device. Those items are made in China and shipped to the United States.