Google sues Sonos over sensible speaker and voice management tech

Google is hanging again at Sonos with a pair of lawsuits alleging that the wi-fi speaker firm is infringing on various its patents round sensible audio system and voice management expertise. It’s the newest volley in a back-and-forth battle over wi-fi audio system that has thus far concerned a number of lawsuits from Sonos, one lawsuit from Google, and one ruling in favor of Sonos that’s led to options being stripped from Google’s merchandise.

These new lawsuits allege infringement of seven extra patents. One lawsuit focuses on hotword detection and wi-fi charging, and the opposite revolves round how a gaggle of audio system determines which one ought to reply to voice enter.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda mentioned the lawsuits are being filed to “defend our technology and challenge Sonos’s clear, continued infringement of our patents.” Castañeda mentioned that Sonos had “started an aggressive and misleading campaign against our products, at the expense of our shared customers.”

Both lawsuits are being filed this morning within the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Google plans to file comparable lawsuits with the US International Trade Commission within the coming days that can search to ban imports of any infringing Sonos merchandise, Castañeda advised The Verge.

The authorized skirmish began in 2020 when Sonos initially sued Google over multiroom speaker expertise. The two firms had partnered years earlier to make Google companies work on Sonos audio system, and Sonos claimed that Google went on to steal its speaker tech to construct the Google Home and different units. Google countersued months later, claiming Sonos infringed on various its patents, too. Then Sonos sued once more. Finally, in January — two years after the primary lawsuit was filed — the US International Trade Commission dominated in Sonos’ favor, discovering Google in violation of Sonos’ patents.

In response, Google has needed to modify options of a few of its merchandise. That included Google eradicating the flexibility to regulate the amount of a gaggle of audio system directly — a fairly annoying change for homeowners of a number of Google audio system. Today’s lawsuits appears to be an try by Google to achieve leverage on Sonos as the 2 spar over options.