Trade Court Rules that Google Infringed on Sonos Patents

The United States International Trade Commission has reportedly upheld a ruling finding that Google infringed upon five audio technology patents held by speaker company Sonos.

Apple Insider reports that the United States International Trade Commission has upheld a previous ruling that found that Google had infringed upon five audio technology patents held by the speaker maker Sonos. The ruling stated that Google will no longer be able to import products that violate Sonos’ intellectual property in the United States.

The import ban is set to go into effect in 60 days and the entire situation will be subject to a presidential review during that period. The original ruling was made in August by Judge Charles E. Bullock and determine that Google violated section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 relating to the sale and import of products that infringe five patents.

Jose Castaneda, a spokesperson for Google, commented: “We will seek further review and continue to defend ourselves against Sonos’s frivolous claims about our partnership and intellectual property.”

Google also claims that it has found a way to work around the infringing patents for use in future products. Sonos alleges that the future products will likely be missing features and has asked to take out a patent license to protect consumers.

Sonos sued Google in January 2020 alleging that Google was “blatantly” using its patented technology, information which Sonos claims that it shared with Google in confidence.

Read more at Apple Insider here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com