Auckland, California – A trade court on Thursday ruled that Google infringed the rights of five audio technology holders owned by loudspeaker Sonos and that they were not allowed to import products into the United States.
The final decision of the United States International Trade Commission (WTO), which regulates trade issues and prohibits the importation of infringements, closes a two-year investigation into intellectual property disputes.
Sonos asked the Trade Commission to import Google products, claiming that the company was infringing on its rights. Includes Google Home Smart Speakers, Pixel Phones and Computers and Chromecast Streaming Video Tool. Those items are made in China and exported to the United States.
The import ban will take effect within 60 days. During that time, the case will be subject to presidential review. In a final ruling, the commission’s judge ruled in August that Google must comply with the ban. After that initial decision, the entire Commission convened to accept or overturn the decision.
The commission ruled that Google had violated the 1930 Tariff Act by importing products that infringed on US patents, trademarks, or copyrights to prevent unfair competition. The Commission has issued an order to stop and stop Google.
“We appreciate the fact that ITCC has properly verified all five Sonos patents in this case and Google has unequivocally determined that it has violated all five of them.
Google spokesman Jose Kasteneda said the company disagreed with the decision, but said it would work to ensure that customers’ products were not compromised and that they could sell and import equipment. Google’s first decision in August approved alternatives to patents, and the commission said it would not oppose the decision on Thursday.
Mr Casteneda said in a statement: “We want further evaluation and will continue to defend ourselves against Sonos’ false claims of our partnership and intellectual property.
Sonos has two patent cases pending against Google in federal court. First, the case is pending in the US District Court in Los Angeles in January 2020, pending a decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The second, a series of patent cases, is pending in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
In a statement, Google said the alternative designs “could degrade or eliminate product features beyond the scope of the import ban” but said Google products were still infringing on dozens of other Sony rights. He urged Google to pay a “fair royalty” for licensing technology.
The impact of the decision seems to be limited to Google Business, as the import ban will have little effect on new products using different technologies. Also, Google’s core business is not affected by online advertising.
Google parent company Alphabet increases sales of hardware products with non-“other” advertising businesses, including the sale of apps and digital media. This category accounts for 18% of alphabetical revenue in the third quarter, which ended in late September.
Sonos said he has shared the details with Google since the two companies began working together in 2013. At first, Google was not a competitor, but it moved to Sonos’s place in 2015 with a small device and a 2016 Google Home speaker.
Sonos Google claims it has infringed more than 100 patent rights and submitted a license to Google. The two companies could not reach an agreement.
The allegations are partly due to the prevailing business practices of today’s technology giants. Google started as a search engine two decades ago. Today it manufactures a variety of hardware products, including smartphones, computers and connected home appliances. It sells computer infrastructure to other businesses as well as high-speed Internet connections to consumers.
With each extension of the business, Google is gaining traction in the field of small companies that do not expect to be overwhelmed by Behemoth’s seemingly unlimited resources.
Sonos pioneered house-to-house broadcasts that broadcast music or podcasts from smartphones and played songs in various rooms. However, Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook have been in the market for many years, using smart speakers as a platform to promote voice-assistants in millions of homes around the world.
As technology collectors are being investigated by regulators and politicians, other small rivals are challenging the business practices of large industrial companies. Epic Games, the creator of the popular FortNit game, sued Apple and Google over App Store commissions. In November, Facebook, now known as Meta, was accused by Facebook of violating Facebook’s anti-terrorism laws.