ITC Grants Google’s Petition for Modification Proceeding in Sonos Case

The International Trade Commission voted Aug. 8 to open a modification proceeding on Google’s July 14 petition that Pixel smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices installed with a new “device utility app” no longer infringe an October 2019 Sonos patent (10,439,896) on wirelessly connecting devices in a home network and should be removed from standing cease and desist and limited exclusion orders, said a notice for Friday’s Federal Register. Sonos filed an opposition to Google’s petition July 25, said the notice. The ITC has assigned the proceeding to Chief Administrative Law Judge Clark Cheney, who will render a “recommended determination” by Feb. 13, it said. Customs and Border Protection ruled in June that some Google device imports continued to infringe Sonos multiroom audio patents in violation of the ITC’s Jan. 6 import ban, ordering Google to disable the original device utility app in those devices and install a new app (see 2206290001).