There is an ongoing legal battle between Google and Sonos. Google is now pouring oil on it by filing two lawsuits against Sonos for patent infringement in the field of smart speakers and voice control.
Sonos sues Google
Sonos has already filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020 over the possible infringement of more than a hundred patents. It was then about the so-called speaker groups. According to Sonos, Google had stolen this technology that allows multiple Sonos speakers to play sound in sync.
Early this year, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) found that Google is infringing five Sonos patents related to smart speakers and audio. Again, this is about synchronizing audio through speaker groups, and also about having a ‘controller’ device.
Google then decided to work on alternatives for setting up devices and speaker groups. It is no longer possible to change the volume of speaker groups. This is only possible for individual speakers. The (provisional) consequences for your smart speaker can be found in this article.
Google sues Sonos
Now the tables have turned as Google has sued Sonos for allegedly violating seven patents related to smart speakers and voice control. reports The Verge. Google filed two separate lawsuits against Sonos in a California court on Monday. Google also plans to file charges with the US International Trade Commission this week as well.
The first lawsuit is all about hotword detection and wireless charging. The second lawsuit concerns four additional patents, which concern a group of smart speakers and how they respond to a voice command. Google claims that Sonos uses its technology to determine which Sonos speaker responds to the user.
With the new charges, Google wants to ensure that certain Sonos speakers can no longer be sold in the United States. It would be the Sonos One, Sonos One SL, Sonos Move, Sonos Roam, Sonos Roam SL, Sonos Five, Sonos Arc, Sonos Beam, Sonos Ray, and the Sonos One. Sonos has not yet commented on the new lawsuits.
– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source