Suit Says Google Copied Speaker Tech From Sonos -- WSJ
January 08 2020 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Sebastian Herrera
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (January 8, 2020).
Wireless-speaker maker Sonos Inc. accused Alphabet Inc.'s Google
in a lawsuit on Tuesday of stealing its technology and infringing
on its patents, escalating tensions between the once-close
partners.
Sonos is seeking a ban on the sale of Google's speakers,
smartphones and laptops in the U.S., as well as financial
compensation, in a suit filed with the U.S. International Trade
Commission and the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The relationship between the two companies, which had matched
Sonos' speakers with Google services, has soured as Google built a
growing speaker business, challenging Sonos in its own
industry.
"Google has been blatantly and knowingly copying our patented
technology in creating its audio products," Sonos CEO Patrick
Spence said in a statement Tuesday. While Google remains "an
important partner," the two parties haven't been able to find a
solution, he added.
A Google spokesman said the company disputes the claims by Sonos
and is "disappointed that Sonos brought these lawsuits instead of
continuing negotiations in good faith."
The suit claimed that Google gained knowledge, as early as 2013,
of Sonos's patented wireless multiroom technology, which allows a
listener hear music in different rooms, through a partnership that
integrated Google's music streaming system into Sonos speakers.
The suit also accused Google of beginning to infringe on a Sonos
patent in 2015 when it launched its first wireless audio product,
Chromecast Audio, and has continued to infringe on other patents as
its launched more speaker products. Sonos owns more than 750
patents in the U.S. related to audio technology, the company said
in the suit.
After stealing its technology, the lawsuit alleged, Google used
its dominance to flood the market and expand its product offerings,
which now include premium and mini editions of its Google Home
speaker.
"These actions have caused significant damage to Sonos," the
company said in its lawsuit.
Sonos, which developed the market, has seen its market share
shrink as Amazon.com and Google have become market leaders. Amazon
shipped about 10.5 million smart speakers in the three-month period
ending in September, while Google shipped 6 million, according to
Strategy Analytics.
Meanwhile, Sonos sold a total of 6.1 million speakers in the
12-month period -- not the three-month period as with its rivals --
ending in September, according to a company filing.
Sonos said in the suit it first raised infringement claims with
Google in August 2016 and has notified the company multiple times
since on infringement violations. Google failed to respond
adequately, Sonos said, and instead created more products using its
technology.
Write to Sebastian Herrera at Sebastian.Herrera@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2020 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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