A emblem is pictured at Google’s European Engineering Heart in Zurich, Switzerland July 19, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photograph Purchase Licensing Rights
Sept 18 (Reuters) – Sonos (SONO.O) has satisfied a choose on the U.S. Worldwide Commerce Fee to not block imports of its audio system with voice-control capabilities, because it wages an ongoing patent battle with Google (GOOGL.O) over wireless-speaker know-how.
Administrative regulation choose Cameron Elliot stated in an preliminary dedication on Friday that Sonos’ imports didn’t violate federal regulation. The complete fee is about to resolve in January whether or not to affirm the ruling.
The 2 corporations have filed patent lawsuits in opposition to one another in a number of jurisdictions after beforehand collaborating to combine Google’s streaming music service into Sonos merchandise.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda stated on Monday that the corporate was disillusioned with the ITC’s choice and contemplating subsequent steps.
Sonos’ chief authorized officer Eddie Lazarus stated on Monday that this was the “fifth jurisdiction (together with Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, and France) by which Google has sued Sonos and misplaced” and referred to as Google’s lawsuits a “gross abuse of the patent system and an effort to punish Sonos for standing up for its personal innovations.”
Google accused Sonos’ audio system with Voice Management know-how of infringing patents associated to its Google Assistant know-how. The ITC is scheduled to make an preliminary dedication on an analogous Google criticism subsequent 12 months, and associated Google lawsuits are pending in California federal court docket.
Sonos has individually sued Google for allegedly copying its know-how in Google’s good audio system. It gained a restricted import ban on some Google audio units from the ITC final 12 months and a $32.5 million jury verdict in opposition to Google in San Francisco earlier this 12 months.
The ITC case is Within the Matter of Sure Audio Gamers and Parts Thereof (II), U.S. Worldwide Commerce Fee, No. 337-TA-1330.
For Google: Alex Lasher of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
For Sonos: Bas de Clean of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Learn extra:
Sonos wins Google import ban ruling in U.S. patent combat
Google sues Sonos over new voice-assistant know-how
US jury says Google owes Sonos $32.5 million in smart-speaker patent case
Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington
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