ITC Plans 5th Survey on ‘Effectiveness’ of Exclusion Orders

The International Trade Commission wants Sonos’ participation in a survey it plans to help “assess the effectiveness” of limited exclusion orders issued for Tariff Act Section 337 violations, the commission wrote a Sonos lawyer Thursday. The ITC awarded Sonos an exclusion order Jan. 6 when it found in its final determination that Google smart speakers, Pixel smartphones and Chromebook laptops infringe at least 17 claims in five Sonos multiroom audio patents (see 2201060065). The ITC has canvassed “exclusion order holders” four times since fiscal 2000, and “anticipates conducting another such survey in the future,” it told Sonos attorney Bas de Blank with Orrick Herrington, seeking a Sonos point person to canvass with familiarity of the exclusion order against Google.