Google was fined US$ 32.5 million (about R$ 163 million in direct conversion) for violating patents of the audio device company Sonos. The decision is related to some smart home devices, such as the Chromecast line.
This is a process that has been ongoing since the beginning of 2020, when Sonos accused Google of having misused some of its technologies. The data would have been obtained at the time when the two companies collaborated to allow the integration of sound devices with the late Google Play Music.
Previously, California judge William Alsup had already determined that some older items actually infringed Sonos’ patents: this is the case with Chromecast Audio and the Google Home service. However, questions related to new versions of both solutions were still open.
In total, two of the six patents cited were considered infringing by Google. However, the verdict still pointed out that Sonos failed to show that Google Home violated some specific aspects, which led to the rejection of the other four complaints.
Even so, the decision was considered a victory for Sonos. The subject was mentioned in a statement given to the Engadget portal:
“We are deeply grateful for the jury’s time and diligence in defending the validity of our patents. (…) The verdict reaffirms that Google is a serial infringer of our portfolio.”
According to the same response, Sonos pointed out that it believes that more than 200 patents were violated by the rival. However, Google minimized the decision, also through an official note:
“This is a tight race over some specific features that are not commonly used. Of the six patents that Sonos initially named, only one was found to be infringed, while the rest were invalid or non-infringing.”
Judicial disputes between the two companies are already repeated in the courts, including with counterattacks from Google itself in 2020. As early as 2022, Sonos was accused of violating patents related to Google Assistant in its own voice assistant – not yet there is no way of knowing if the most recent decisions will be able to ease the constant battles of the brands.
Source: Engadget
