Due to suspected patent infringement, Google is suing speaker manufacturer Sonos. Google claims that Sonos' most recent voice-assistant technology violates seven Google Assistant-related patents in two lawsuits that were filed on Monday in the US District Court in California.
American audio equipment developer and producer Sonos, Inc. is well known for its multi-room audio offerings. John MacFarlane, Tom Cullen, Craig Shelburne, and Trung Mai launched the business in 2002. The CEO, Patrick Spence was appointed in January 2017.
Pandora, iHeartRadio, Spotify, MOG, QQ Music, and Amazon Music are just a few of the over 100 music service providers that Sonos has worked with. Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri are the three main voice assistants that Sonos systems are compatible with; however, Siri is presently only supported through Apple's Home app.
Sonos purchased Snips SAS in 2019 with the intention of integrating a music-specific assistant into its products. Snips SAS is an AI voice platform for connected devices with a privacy-focused approach.
According to José Castañeda, a spokesman for Google, Sonos has "started an aggressive and misleading campaign against our products, at the expense of our shared customers," which is why the lawsuits have been brought to "defend our technology and challenge Sonos' clear, continued infringement of our patents."
Customers may now manage their speakers with voice commands that begin with "Hey Sonos" thanks to Sonos's debut of its own voice assistant in June.
Google claimed in the lawsuits that it has made its technologies available to users all over the world, including "even providing its Google Assistant software to Sonos for many years." The lawsuits also claimed that Google has worked with Sonos engineers for years on the "implementation of voice recognition and voice-activated device controls in Sonos' products."
Google asks for an injunction preventing Sonos' claimed infringement as well as an undetermined sum in monetary damages.
The two businesses, which were formerly partners, have been engaged in an ongoing legal conflict. Google was found to have violated five Sonos-owned patents last year, according to a decision by the US International Trade Commission. As a result of Sonos' victory, Google modified the setup and control of its smart speakers.
According to Eddie Lazarus, chief legal officer of Sonos, "Google previously sued us all over the world and Sonos has prevailed in every decided case." He also said that the new lawsuits "are an intimidation tactic designed to retaliate against Sonos fo
