Sonos wins ruling to revive US patent in case against Google

By Blake Brittain

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that a Sonos SONO.O patent related to smart-speaker technology should not have been declared invalid, paving the way for the speaker maker to revive a lawsuit against Google GOOGL.O which had produced a $32.5 million infringement verdict in 2023.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected a California judge's decision that had found Sonos' patent unenforceable and negated the company's jury win. The appeals court sent the case back to San Francisco for further proceedings.

Spokespeople and attorneys for the companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision.

Google and Sonos previously worked together to integrate Google's streaming music service into Sonos products. Sonos first sued Google for patent infringement in 2020, accusing the tech giant of copying its technology in devices including Google Home and Chromecast Audio.

Google countered with its own patent lawsuits in an intellectual property dispute that has also included lawsuits in Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Sonos convinced a federal jury in 2023 that Google owed $32.5 million for infringing a patent related to wireless audio technology. U.S. District Judge William Alsup said later that year that the patent and another Sonos patent were unenforceable because Sonos had allowed for an "inexcusable" 13-year delay between relevant filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Federal Circuit overturned Alsup's ruling on Friday and said that Google had not shown it was prejudiced by Sonos' delay.

The case is Google LLC v. Sonos Inc, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 24-1097.

For Google: Dan Bagatell of Perkins Coie

For Sonos: Joshua Rosenkranz of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe

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