Sonos Basing Infringement Allegations on 'Revisionist History,' Says Google

Allegations that Google smart speakers and other products infringe Sonos multiroom audio patents are based on “revisionist history,” said Google in docket 337-TA-1191 at the International Trade Commission in its first official reply (login required) to the Jan. 7 Sonos complaint. Commissioners voted Feb. 5 to open an investigation into the complaint (see 2002060070), which seeks an import ban on a wide variety of allegedly infringing Google products. Google “did not obtain ‘deep’ access to Sonos technology" and then develop the Google Chromecast products at issue, as Sonos alleges, it said Thursday. “Google launched Chromecast before Google and Sonos ever agreed to collaborate.” When they began working together, Sonos repeatedly asked for Google’s “assistance,” it said. “Google was willing to help. Google gave Sonos significant assistance designing, implementing, and testing a solution that would bring Google’s voice recognition software to Sonos’s devices.” Sonos seems to think that “no good deed should go unpunished,” said Google. “Sonos now asks the Commission to impose sweeping remedial orders barring the importation of multiple Google products,” it said. “There is no basis for Sonos’s claims. The technologies Google uses were all independently developed by Google.” Sonos didn’t comment Friday.