In January 2020, Sonos sued Google over patent infringement. On August 13th 2021, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a preliminary ruling finding that Google infringed on five patents.
This preliminary rulng is far from a complete sentence and this battle will likely last for much longer. Google entered the market four years ago with the original Home speaker and has since evolved their line with multiple speakers and has since been rebranded under the nest lineup. These devices have since gained lots of users due to how they can integrate into smart home setups.
The ultimate goal of Sonos’ complaint is for the ITC to block the import of Google’s smart speakers, chromecast and even their pixel devices. This would be devastating for Google’s hardware teams. A final ruling is not expected until December 13th, after this it would a potential import ban would take 60 days to go into effect.
I will continue to post updates surrounding this story as it develops.