WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Thursday it was launching a patent investigation into certain audio players and controllers sold by Alphabet Inc's Google based on a complaint by rival smart speaker maker Sonos Inc. The ITC received a complaint from Sonos last month alleging that the import of certain audio players and controllers and their components infringe on its patents. Sonos at the time also filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Google in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and testified to a House of Representatives antitrust subcommittee about its frustrations with Google. "Sonos has made misleading statements about our history of working together. We deny their claims vigorously, and will be defending against them," Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in a statement on Thursday.

Source: International New York Times February 06, 2020 19:07 UTC