Google wastes no time restoring speaker group features for Nest devices after Sonos lawsuit verdict

After a rather tangled affair in court due to Sonos’ patent infringement allegations, which led to Google forcing your Nest speakers, displays, or Chromecasts to pair only to one speaker group at a time, I have some good news for you. Google just won in litigation, and is immediately rolling out updates to reverse some of these restrictions that were created as a result of the lawsuit.

In fact, the updates have already started popping up for some, as reported by The Verge, with an expectation to cover all devices and the Google Home app for Android in just two days. As for the iOS users, hang tight. The update is on its way, though a specific timeline remains a mystery.

As far as the Sonos patent campaign, which Google called misleading in a Keyword Blog post today, the verdict was officially that “This was not a case of an inventor leading the industry to something new”, according to the court (speaking about Sonos). Instead, “This was a case of the industry leading with something new and, only then, an inventor coming out of the woodwork to say that he had come up with the idea first — wringing fresh claims to read on a competitor’s products from an ancient application.”

“In fact, in 2014, five years before Sonos filed the applications and presented the claims, accused infringer Google LLC shared with Sonos a plan for a product that would practice what would become the claimed invention… Google then began introducing its own products that practiced the invention in 2015. Even so, Sonos waited until 2019 to pursue claims on the invention (and until 2020 to roll out the invention in its own product line).”

The Keyword

If you think Sonors rolled over and died, giving up its offensive stance in this case though, you’d be sadly mistaken. Apparently, the company is not happy with the Judge’s decision to nuke the initial $32.5 million verdict, and plans to file for an appeal. Google seems confident they won’t have to walk back these updates when Sonos strikes back, but only time will tell. For now, enjoy the freedom once again!