Google set to sue Sonos over its voice control technology. The recent lawsuits are the latest in a long-running legal hassle between both companies.
Google Set To Sue Sonos Over Its Voice Control Technology
As per multiple reports, Google is now suing Sonos, a speaker-making company over alleged patent infringement. Google in two lawsuits that it filed on Monday in a US district court in California alleges that the latest voice assistant technology from Sonos violates seven patents that are directly related to Google Assistant.
Jose Castaneda which is Google’s spokesperson said that Sonos has “started an aggressive and misleading campaign against our products, at the expense of our shared customers.” And as a result of that, he said that the lawsuits have been filed to “defend our technology and challenge Sonos’ clear, continued infringement of our patents.”
Sonos Launched Its Own Voice Assistant in June 2022
Back in June, Sonos launched its very own voice assistant that allowed its customers to control their speakers making use of voice commands beginning with the phrase ‘Hey Sonos.’
In the lawsuits, Google said that it has made its technologies available to users all over the world, “even providing its Google Assistant software to Sonos for many years.” The lawsuit also indicated that Google for many years worked with engineers of Sonos on the “implementation of voice recognition and voice-activated device controls in Sonos’ products.”
Google Is Requesting For an Unspecified Amount of Financial Damages
Google via the lawsuit is requesting an unspecified amount of financial damages and also an injunction that will block the alleged infringement by Sonos.
The lawsuit is coming in the midst of a long legal battle between the two tech companies which at a time were once partners. The United States international trade commission last year ruled that Google infringed on five patents that were owned by Sonos. The win for Sonos however made Google to change the manner in which its smart speakers are set up and controlled.
Sonos’ Response to the Lawsuit
“Google previously sued us all over the world and Sonos has prevailed in every decided case,” Sonos legal officer, Eddie Lazarus told CNET and he also added that the new lawsuits “are an intimidation tactic designed to retaliate against Sonos for speaking out against Google’s monopolistic practices,” which “will not succeed.”
