Google hit with $15 mln verdict in US trial over audio patents

Sonos

21/06/2023 17:15

* 
      Google Play Music infringed Personal Audio playlist
patents,
jury says
    

        * 
      Verdict follows California win for Sonos in Google audio
patent
fight
    

  
    By Blake Brittain
       June 21(Reuters) - Alphabet's Google  GOOGL.O  must pay
patent holding company Personal Audio LLC $15.1 million for
infringing two patents related to audio software, a Delaware
federal jury said in a verdict made public on Wednesday.
    Personal Audio had argued that Google's music app Google
Play Music featured playlist downloading, navigation and editing
features that violated its patent rights.
    The jury also said that Google infringed the patents
willfully, which could lead to a judge increasing the award by
up to three times the verdict amount.
    Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said on Wednesday that
the company was disappointed with the verdict and plans to
appeal. He said the verdict concerns a "discontinued product"
and would not affect customers.
    Attorneys for Personal Audio did not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
    Beaumont, Texas-based Personal Audio had requested $33.1
million in damages, according to a May court filing. It first
sued Google in 2015 over the patents in a lawsuit that was later
moved from Texas to Delaware. 
    The Delaware verdict came less than a month after a San
Francisco jury ordered Google to pay Sonos $32.5 million for
patent infringement amid a sprawling intellectual property
dispute between the companies over smart-speaker technology.
    
    The case is Personal Audio LLC v. Google LLC, U.S. District
Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:17-cv-01751.
    For Personal Audio: Steve Hanle, Doug Hahn and Salil Bali of
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth
    For Google: Melissa Baily, Jeff Nardinelli, David Perlson,
Antonio Sistos and Patrick Stafford of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &
Sullivan
    
    Read more:
    US jury says Google owes Sonos $32.5 million in
smart-speaker patent case

 (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)