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

Sonos

21/06/2023 18:07

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

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

  
 (Adds comment from Personal Audio attorneys in paragraph 5)
    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.
    A spokesperson for Personal Audio's law firm Stradling Yocca
Carlson & Rauth said on Wednesday that the firm was pleased with
the verdict.
    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)