The International Trade Commission of the United States has affirmed the earlier judgment that found Google infringed on five audio technology patents held by Sonos.
As a result of the verdict, Google will be unable to import devices into the United States that infringe on Sonos’ intellectual property. The import embargo will take into force in 60 days, and the topic will be reviewed by the president during that time.
Judge Charles E. Bullock delivered the first judgment in August, concluding that Google violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by selling and importing things that infringe on five patents. The whole United States International Trade Commission must either approve or overturn the conclusion.
Google representative Jose Castaneda noted that the corporation disagreed with the verdict.
“We will seek more review and will continue to defend ourselves against Sonos’s baseless accusations concerning our collaboration and intellectual property,” Mr. Castaneda said in a statement obtained by the New York Times.
Google also claims to have worked around the patents in question for future product upgrades. Sonos claims that it anticipates functionalities to be lacking in the replacements and again requests a patent license for the benefit of the consumer.
Sonos has two patent infringement actions against Google pending in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. One was postponed due to this judgment, while the second is still proceeding.
Sonos first sued Google in January 2020, claiming the tech giant of “blatantly” exploiting its intellectual technology, which Sonos claimed discussed in confidence with the search company.
Sonos sued Google solely for patent infringement, but Google isn’t the only violator in Sonos’ perspective. Another possible target for a lawsuit was Amazon. Nonetheless, considering the potentially enormous expense of suing two big internet giants at the same time, Sonos chose to simply go after Google.
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