Sonos sounds off, suing Google in two Federal courts for patent infringement

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Smart speaker manufacturer Sonos is taking Google to court for allegedly swiping their multiroom speaker tech. A report from The New York Times says that two lawsuits in Federal courts covering five of Sonos’ patents have been filed.

The company isn’t stopping there though, seeking a sales ban on Google’s laptops, phones, and speakers through a lawsuit filed with the International Trade Commission.

Google is being sued by Sonos for allegedly stealing their multiroom tech

See, back in 2013 Google dangled the opportunity for Sonos to support Google Play Music on their smart speakers. Sonos, perhaps naively, agreed; thinking that no harm would come from it. Sonos says that Google then copied its multiroom tech, putting it inside the Chromecast Audio device and selling it cheaply to undercut Sonos.

According to the company, it repeatedly warned Google of the infringements, first when the Google Home smart speaker was released in 2016, then again when the Google Home Max and Home Mini were released in 2018. By 2019 they say that as many of 100 of their patents were being infringed by Google.

• Sonos claims Google stole its multiroom speaker tech after the companies started a partnership in 2013
• The lawsuits claim Google is infringing on 5 patents. Sonos has accused Google of infringing on as many as 100 patents in the past
• Sonos also says Amazon is infringing on Sonos’ patents, but couldn’t afford to take on both tech giants in court at the same time
• Almost every device that Google manufactures is included in the suit, from the Chromecast and Chromecast Ultra, the Nest Mini, Hub, Hub Max, and WiFi Point; and the Pixel phones, Pixel Slate tablet, and Pixelbook laptop

You can read the full suit here, and the ITC complaint asking for a sales ban on Google’s laptops, phones, and speakers in the USA here.

What do you think? Surprised that the company is suing Google? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.