On January 6, 2022, the ITC issued a Notice of Final Determination finding a violation of section 337 by Respondent Google, Inc. ("Google") in Certain Audio Players and Controllers, Components Thereof, and Products Containing the Same (Inv. No. 337-TA-1191).
By way of background, the Commission instituted this investigation on February 6, 2020 based on a complaint filed by Sonos Inc. ("Sonos") alleging violations of section 337 by Google and Alphabet Inc. through the importation and/or sale of certain audio players and controllers, components thereof, and products containing the same that infringe one of more claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,195,258 ("the '258 patent"); U.S. Patent No. 10,209,953 ("the '953 patent"); U.S. Patent No. 9,219,959 ("the '959 patent"); U.S. Patent No. 8,588,949 ("the '949 patent"); and U.S. Patent No. 10,439,896 ("the '896 patent"). The accused products include Google Home smart speakers, Chromecast video streaming devices, Pixel smartphones, and Pixelbook computers. On August 13, 2021, Chief ALJ Charles E. Bullock issued an initial determination ("ID") finding a violation of section 337 due to Google's infringement of claims 17, 21, 24, and 26 of the '258 patent; claims 7, 14, and 22-24 of the '953 patent; claim 10 of the '959 patent; claims 1, 2, and 5 of the '949 patent; and claims 1, 5, 6, and 12 of the '896 patent. The ID also found that Google developed redesigns that do not infringe the asserted patents. See our August 20, 2021 post for more details regarding the ID.
According to the notice, the Commission affirmed the ID and issued a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist order against Google. We will post the public version of the Commission's opinion when it becomes available.
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