Because of Sonos, Google may no longer be able to sell Pixels in the United States – Frandroid

An American judge ruled in favor of Sonos in the dispute between it and Google since January 2020. Google may no longer be able to market in the United States some of its products, which include the Google Pixel, or the Nest Hub.

The Sonos Roam is perfectly in hand // Source: FRANDROID / Arnaud GELINEAU

In January 2020, His bone has followed Google in federal court and before the United States International Trade Commission, a quasi-judicial body with the power to block the importation of goods that do not comply with a patent.

This is also the subject of the dispute between the two companies as reported by the New York Times. Sonos claims Google has infringed five patents it owns. According to Sonos, Google would have stolen these technologies as part of a partnership between the two companies, before using it in its own products.

Blocking of imports

The consequences of the lawsuit could be serious. Sonos has nonetheless called for a ban on the importation of a large number of devices, including Nest Hubs, the Chromecasts, but also the Google pixel. However, all these products being made in China, if they can no longer be imported, that means that they could no longer be sold in the United States.

Proof that the case is not taken lightly by Google, the Mountain View firm in turn sued Sonos for non-compliance with a patent.

The first battle has therefore just been won by Sonos. The commission, chaired by Judge Charles Bullock, considered that Google had violated Sonos’ patents. However, we do not know the reasons for this decision.

Google Pixel 6 Pro // Source: Google

However, this decision is far from being final. The committee as a whole must validate or deny it. This decision is scheduled for December 13. If the decision is validated, Google will have 60 days before its imports are blocked.

“Promising stage”

Sonos chief legal officer Eddie Lazarus welcomed the judge’s ruling, which he called“A promising step in our long-term quest to defend our innovation against monopoly hijacking of big tech companies”. Earlier in the week, he called Google “Serial rapist” patents from Sonos. He claimed that Google had infringed 150 patents owned by Sonos, although the case between the two companies relates to only five patents. He thus declared that the trial was only “Peak of the iceberg“.

Google reacted more soberly, through the voice of its spokesperson José Castañeda, declaring: “We do not agree with this preliminary ruling and will continue to make our point in the next review process. “