Case 2:20-cv-00169-JAK-DFM Document 1 Filed 01/07/20 Page 1 of 96 Page ID #:1
`
`Clement S. Roberts (SBN 209203)
`croberts@orrick.com
`ORRICK HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP
`405 Howard Street
`San Francisco, CA 94105
`Tel: (415) 773-5700 -- Fax: (415) 773-5759
`
`Alyssa Caridis (SBN 260103)
`acaridis@orrick.com
`ORRICK HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP
`777 South Figueroa Street, Suite 3200
`Los Angeles, CA 90017
`Tel: (213) 629-2020 -- Fax: (213) 612-2499
`
`George I. Lee (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`lee@ls3ip.com
`Sean M. Sullivan (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`sullivan@ls3ip.com
`Rory P. Shea (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`shea@ls3ip.com
`J. Dan Smith (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`smith@ls3ip.com
`LEE SULLIVAN SHEA & SMITH LLP
`656 W Randolph St, Floor 5W
`Chicago, IL 60661
`Tel: (312) 754-0002 -- Fax: (312) 754-0003
`Attorneys for Plaintiff Sonos, Inc.
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
`
`SONOS, INC.,
`
`Case No.
`
`2:20-cv-00169
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`v.
`
`GOOGLE LLC,
`
`Defendant.
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT
`INFRINGEMENT
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
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`Case 2:20-cv-00169-JAK-DFM Document 1 Filed 01/07/20 Page 2 of 96 Page ID #:2
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`Plaintiff Sonos, Inc. (“Sonos” or “Plaintiff”) hereby asserts the following
`claims for patent infringement of United States Patent Nos. 8,588,949, 9,195,258,
`9,219,959, 10,209,953, and 10,439,896 (“patents-in-suit”; attached hereto as
`Exhibits 1-5 respectively) against Defendant Google LLC (“Google” or
`“Defendant”), and alleges as follows:
`INTRODUCTION
`In the early 2000s, Sonos pioneered what is known as wireless multi-
`1.
`room audio, bringing its first commercial products to market in 2005. In
`recognition of its wide-ranging innovations, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
`has granted Sonos more than 750 patents, including the patents-in-suit. The
`innovations captured by these patents cover many important aspects of wireless
`multi-room audio devices/systems, including, for example, how to set up a playback
`device on a wireless local area network, how to manage and control groups of
`playback devices (e.g., how to adjust group volume of playback devices and how
`to pair playback devices together for stereo sound), and how to synchronize the play
`back of audio within groups of playback devices.
`2.
`As early as 2013, Google gained knowledge of Sonos’s patented multi-
`room technology through a partnership with Sonos to integrate Google Play Music
`into the Sonos platform. However, just two years later in 2015, Google began
`willfully infringing Sonos’s patents when it launched its first wireless multi-room
`audio product – Chromecast Audio. Since 2015, Google’s misappropriation of
`Sonos’s patented technology has only proliferated, as Google has expanded its
`wireless multi-room audio system to more than a dozen different infringing
`products, including, for example, the Google Home Mini, Google Home, Google
`Home Max, and Pixel phones, tablets, and laptops. Worse still, Google has
`persisted despite the fact that Sonos has warned Google of its infringement on at
`least four separate occasions dating back to 2016.
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`The harm produced by Google’s infringement has been profoundly
`3.
`compounded by Google’s business strategy to use its multi-room audio products to
`vacuum up invaluable consumer data from users and, thus, further entrench the
`Google platform among its users and ultimately fuel its dominant advertising and
`search platforms. In furtherance of this strategy, Google has not merely copied
`Sonos’s patented technology, it has also subsidized the prices of its patent-
`infringing products, including at the entry level, and flooded the market. These
`actions have caused significant damage to Sonos.
`4.
`Sonos has brought this lawsuit to hold Google accountable for its
`willful infringement of Sonos’s patent rights.
`SONOS’S INNOVATION
`Founded in 2002, Sonos invented what is known today as wireless
`5.
`multi-room audio. Ex. 6 (2013 NBC News: “If you’re not familiar with Sonos, this
`company revolutionized the home audio world a decade ago….”); Ex. 7 (2015
`Men’s Journal: “Sonos almost singlehandedly established the stand-alone wireless
`home speaker system category….”).
`6.
` At the time of Sonos’s founding, multi-room audio systems were
`dependent on a centralized receiver hard-wired to each individual passive speaker
`throughout a home or business. In sharp contrast, Sonos’s system eliminated this
`dependency and, instead, relies on intelligent, networked playback devices to
`deliver premium sound wirelessly throughout a home or business. While
`conquering the challenge of inventing a multi-room wireless audio system was
`difficult in its own right, Sonos also built a system that is easy to setup, easy to use,
`customizable, readily integrated with other technologies and services, and effective
`in delivering outstanding sound quality in any home or business environment. See,
`e.g., Ex. 8 (2005 PC Magazine: describing one of Sonos’s first products as “the
`iPod of digital audio” for the home and contrasting Sonos with conventional home
`audio systems that required “dedicated wiring”).
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`An early sketch of Sonos’s wireless multi-room audio architecture is
`7.
`shown below:
`
`Sonos launched its first commercial products in 2005 and has since
`8.
`released a wide variety of wireless multi-room audio products, including, for
`example, the Play:1, Play:3, Play:5 (Gen 1 and Gen 2), One (Gen 1 and Gen 2),
`One SL, Move, Playbar, Playbase, Beam, Sub, Connect, Port, Connect:Amp, and
`Amp. See, e.g., Ex. 9. Sonos’s products can be set up and controlled by the Sonos
`app. Id.
`9.
`
`A sampling of Sonos’s product lineup is shown below.
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`Sonos’s products are consistently hailed as setting the standard for the
`10.
`industry. See, e.g., Ex. 10 (2018 Digital Trends: “Sonos is the king of multiroom
`audio . . . .”); Ex. 11 (2019 What Hi-Fi: “[N]o multi-room offering is as complete
`or as pleasurable to live with as Sonos.”).
`11.
`Sonos’s products are also compatible with many different third-party
`music streaming services and Sonos has entered into partnerships with dozens of
`them to integrate their services into the Sonos platform. See, e.g., Ex. 12. For
`example, in 2013, Sonos started working closely with Google to integrate the
`Google Play Music streaming service and Google Play Music launched on the
`Sonos platform in 2014 (with Google’s YouTube Music service added later). See,
`e.g., Ex. 13. As recognized at the time, Sonos’s integration work with Google was
`especially “deep” and gave Google a wide aperture through which to view Sonos’s
`proprietary technology. Id. (2014 Wired: “Now, Google Play Music will be
`available as an option to Sonos owners via the Sonos controller app (iOS, Android,
`and web). And, for the first time, the Google Play Music Android app is getting
`updated with a button that lets users easily play music from any Sonos speaker in
`the house. This is the first time this sort of deep integration has happened between
`a third party music service and Sonos.”).
`12. As a pioneer in wireless audio, Sonos has been and continues to be at
`the forefront of technological innovation and diligently protects its inventions.
`Leading outside organizations have recognized the value of Sonos’s ingenuity. For
`example, Sonos earned a spot on the IPO list of “Top 300 Organizations Granted
`U.S. Patents” and the IEEE recognized Sonos as having one of “[t]he technology
`world’s most valuable patent portfolios.” See Exs. 14, 15. Currently, Sonos is the
`owner of more than 750 United States Patents related to audio technology, as well
`as more than 420 pending United States Patent Applications. Sonos’s patents cover
`important aspects of wireless multi-room audio systems, such as setting up a
`playback device on a wireless local area network, managing and controlling groups
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`of playback devices (e.g., adjusting group volume of playback devices and pairing
`playback devices together for stereo sound), and synchronizing playback of audio
`within groups of playback devices. These features are covered by the patents-in-
`suit.
`
`Sonos identifies many of its patents on the “Patents” webpage of
`13.
`Sonos’s website. See Ex. 16. In addition, Sonos encloses notices of its patents with
`its product inserts/manuals, which state that “[o]ur patent-to-product information
`can be found here: sonos.com/legal/patents.” See, e.g., Exs. 9, 17. Sonos also
`provides a link in the Sonos app to sonos.com/en-us/legal/terms through which the
`“Patents” webpage of Sonos’s website can be accessed. See Ex. 18.
`GOOGLE’S INFRINGEMENT
`In 2015, a decade after Sonos’s first product launch, Google released
`14.
`its “Chromecast Audio” – an audio adapter/dongle that can turn a speaker with an
`auxiliary port into a wireless, networked speaker. While the Chromecast Audio
`product did not launch with Sonos’s patented multi-room audio functionality,
`Google clearly understood the importance of this popular audio feature as it
`released a multi-room audio software update only a couple of months after launch.
`See Ex. 19 (2015 The Guardian: “Google is also working on multi-room audio
`streaming using the Chromecast Audio, but it will not support the popular feature
`out of the box.”).
`15.
`In announcing its multi-room software update, Google explained the
`importance of this added functionality:
`A couple of months ago we launched Chromecast Audio. . . . Today
`we’re starting to add two new features to the latest software update to
`elevate your listening experience. . . . Now you can easily fill every
`room in your home-bedroom, kitchen, living room, or wherever you
`have a Chromecast Audio connected-with synchronous music. Multi-
`room lets you group Chromecast Audio devices together so you can
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`listen to the same song on multiple speakers.
`Ex. 20 (December 2015 Google Chrome Blog).
`16. As observed in a 2015 Variety article entitled “Google’s Chromecast
`Audio Adapter Gets Multi-Room Support Similar to Sonos,” Google’s updated
`Chromecast Audio was considered a “major” advancement for Google and was
`recognized as competing directly with Sonos because of its similar multi-room
`capability:
`Google’s recently-launched Chromecast Audio adapter is getting a
`major feature update this week: Consumers will now be able to group
`multiple Chromecast audio adapters to stream their favorite music
`simultaneously in more than one room, similar to the multi-room
`support available for internet-connected loudspeakers like the ones
`made by Sonos.
`Ex. 21.
`To control the multi-room Chromecast Audio, Google also provided a
`17.
`Chromecast app with multi-room audio functionality similar to the Sonos app. As
`observed in a 2015 article by Pocket-Lint, Google’s multi-room app “can pretty
`much do the same thing” as Sonos’s app:
`[Chromecast Audio]’s been updated to make it more comparable to
`Sonos, a smart speaker system that wirelessly streams all your Hi-Fi
`music to any room, or every room. You control your Sonos experience
`with one app. Well, thanks to a new software rollout, Chromecast
`Audio can pretty much do the same thing.
`Ex. 22.
`The media comparisons between Google’s Chromecast Audio and
`18.
`Sonos’s products are a result of the fact that, on information and belief, Google
`copied key features from Sonos. These features include, for example, Sonos’s
`patented technology for setting up a playback device on a wireless local area
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`network, adjusting group volume of playback devices, and synchronizing playback
`of audio within groups of playback devices.
`19. Moreover, as explained above, Google released the Chromecast Audio
`merely two years after partnering with Sonos to integrate Google Play Music into
`the Sonos platform. On information and belief, Google exploited the knowledge of
`Sonos’s system that it gained from this integration work to develop its multi-room
`Chromecast Audio product and infringe Sonos’s patents.
`20. Over the next four years, Google aggressively expanded its line of
`multi-room wireless audio products through new product releases and software
`updates. On information and belief, with each iteration, Google’s copying of
`Sonos’s products and patented technology became even more blatant.
`21.
`For example, , on information and belief, in 2016, a year after Google
`launched the Chromecast Audio wireless adapter, Google escalated its copying of
`Sonos by releasing the Google Home multi-room audio player (which was
`controlled by Google’s rebranded multi-room controller app – the Google Home
`app). Unlike the Chromecast Audio, the Google Home added an internal speaker
`driver making it an “all-in-one” audio player akin to Sonos’s prior Play:1, Play:3,
`and Play:5 products.
`22. As with the Chromecast Audio, the Google Home was recognized as
`a direct attack on Sonos. When the Google Home was announced, for example,
`The Register observed that “[n]o market is safe from [the] search engine monster”
`and that Google was in particular “offering new products to compete with Sonos in
`the music streaming market.” See Ex. 23. The Register also further noted the
`conspicuous similarity that multiple “Google Homes will work with one another,
`allowing music to be spread into different rooms on command - like the very
`popular Sonos music system.” Id.
`23.
`Like The Register, The Verge also recognized the similarities between
`the new infringing Google Home and Sonos’s prior products: “You can also group
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`multiple Home units together and play music through all of them simultaneously,
`similar to how Sonos works.” See Ex. 24.
`24. Again, the media comparisons between Google’s Home and Sonos’s
`products reflected a darker truth that, on information and belief, Google had
`misappropriated Sonos’s innovations. These innovations include, for example,
`Sonos’s patented technology for setting up a playback device on a wireless local
`area network, adjusting group volume of playback devices, and synchronizing
`playback of audio within groups of playback devices. Notably, Google launched
`the Google Home product in November 2016 despite Sonos’s prior warnings of
`infringement in August and October, as set forth below.
`25. On information and belief, the Google Home proved to be merely
`another forerunner to further copying by Google. In 2017, Google released two
`additional “all-in-one” wireless multi-room products – the Google Home Max and
`the Google Home Mini. Google’s Home Max in particular was seen as a “Sonos
`Clone” and a “not-so-subtle copy of the [Sonos] Play:5 speaker . . . .” Ex. 25. As
`explained by Gizmodo, “[i]t’s also hard not to see the [Google Home Max] device
`as something of a jab at Sonos.” Id.; see also, e.g., Ex. 26 (2017 Android Central:
`“You can’t help but look at Google Home Max . . . and come to the conclusion that
`Google is sticking its nose where Sonos has been for years.”).
`26. As with Google’s other prior infringing products, on information and
`belief, Google also copied Sonos’s patented technology for the Google Home Max.
`This patented technology includes, for example, Sonos’s patented technology for
`setting up a playback device on a wireless local area network, adjusting group
`volume of playback devices, and synchronizing playback of audio within groups of
`playback devices. With the Google Home Max, however, Google copied even
`more of Sonos’s patented technology than it did with Google’s previous wireless
`audio products. For instance, the Google Home Max also copied Sonos’s patented
`“pairing” technology, which allows two playback devices to be paired together for
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`stereo sound.
`27.
`In contrast to the Google Home Max, which was priced similarly to
`Sonos’s comparable products, the Google Home Mini predatorily implemented
`Sonos’s valuable patented technology into an all-in-one wireless multi-room
`product that Google sells at a super-cheap subsidized price point or even gives away
`for free. Ex. 27 (“At $49, Google Home Mini works on its own or you can have a
`few around the house, giving you the power of Google anywhere in your home.”);
`Ex. 28 (“Google partnered with Spotify to offer Home Minis as a free promotion
`for Spotify Premium customers. Spotify’s premium userbase is nearly 90 million,
`so if even a fraction of users take the free offer, a massive influx of Google smart
`speakers will enter the market.”). As is well understood, Google uses its Home
`Mini as a “loss leader” to generate additional revenue from other revenue streams
`that are bolstered and/or enabled by the sale of Google’s wireless multi-room audio
`products. See, e.g., Ex. 28 (explaining that Google is using its smart speaker
`devices as a “‘loss leader’ to support advertising or e-commerce.”).
`28. On information and belief, Google’s pervasive copying of Sonos’s
`products and patented technology has resulted in an infringing product line that now
`includes at least the Chromecast, Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast Audio, Home
`Mini, Nest Mini, Home, Home Max, Home Hub, Nest Hub, Nest Hub Max, and
`Nest Wifi Point (individually or collectively, “Google Audio Player(s)”), all of
`which can be controlled by, for example, the Google Home app, Google Play Music
`app, and YouTube Music app (individually or collectively, “Google App(s)”). See,
`e.g., Exs. 29-39.1
`
`1 Any reference to a “Google Audio Player” or a “Google App” includes each
`version and generation of such player/app unless otherwise noted.
`9
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`29.
`
`The image below shows a few of the infringing Google Audio Players.
`
`In addition to providing the various software Google Apps for
`30.
`controlling the Google Audio Players, Google also offers various infringing
`hardware controller devices that are pre-installed with the Google Play Music app
`or YouTube Music app (and capable of downloading and executing the Google
`Apps that are not pre-installed). These infringing hardware controller devices
`include, for example, Google’s “Pixel” phones, tablets, and laptops (e.g., the Pixel
`3, Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4, and Pixel 4 XL phones, the Pixel Slate
`tablet, and the Pixelbook and Pixelbook Go laptops) (individually or collectively,
`“Google Pixel Device(s)”). See, e.g., Exs. 40-43.2
`31. Herein, “Google Wireless Audio System” refers to one or more
`Google Audio Players, one or more Google Pixel Devices, and/or one or more
`Google Apps.
`
`GOOGLE’S UNJUST ENRICHMENT
`32. Google’s infringement of Sonos’s patented inventions has paved the
`way for Google to generate billions of dollars in revenue. A December 2018 market
`report by Royal Bank of Canada, for example, concluded that Google has sold over
`40 million Google Home devices in the U.S. and that Google generated $3.4 billion
`
`2 Any reference to a “Google Pixel Device” includes each version and generation
`of such device unless otherwise noted.
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`in Google Home revenue in 2018 alone. Ex. 44 at p. 1, 4, 14-15. Royal Bank of
`Canada also found that, as of August 2017, Google had sold more than 55 million
`Chromecast devices and that Google generated $998 million in Chromecast revenue
`in 2018. Id. at p. 4, 16. Further, Royal Bank of Canada estimated that, in 2018,
`Google generated $3.4 billion in Pixel device revenue. Id. at p. 4, 16, 18.
`33. Moreover, the revenue obtained from sale of Google’s hardware
`devices presents an incomplete picture of the full value to Google, as Google is
`selling the infringing products at a discount and/or as a “loss leader” to generate
`future revenue. For instance, on information and belief, Google’s copying of
`Sonos’s patented inventions has helped and/or will help Google generate significant
`revenue from the use of Google’s hardware devices including advertising, data
`collection, and search via the Google Wireless Audio Systems. As the New York
`Post explained, “Amazon and Google both discounted their home speakers so
`deeply over the holidays that they likely lost a few dollars per unit . . . hoping to
`lock in customers and profit from later sales of goods and data about buying habits.”
`Ex. 45. Similarly, News Without Borders explained that companies like Google are
`using their “smart speaker” devices as “‘loss leader[s]’ to support advertising . . . .”
`Ex. 28.
`34. On information and belief, Google’s copying of Sonos’s patented
`inventions has also helped and/or will help Google generate significant revenue
`from driving its users to make follow-on purchases such as streaming music
`subscriptions and retail purchases via the Google Wireless Audio Systems. For
`example, an NPR “smart speaker” survey found that 28% of survey respondents
`agreed that “[g]etting a Smart Speaker led [them] to pay for a music subscription
`service,” and Google offers two such subscriptions – Google Play Music and
`YouTube Music. Ex. 46 at p. 20. Likewise, the NPR survey also found that 26%
`of respondents use their smart speakers “regularly” to “add [items] to shopping
`list.” Id. at p. 15; see also, e.g., Ex. 28 (stating that companies like Google are using
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`their “smart speaker” devices as “‘loss leader[s]’ to support . . . e-commerce.”).
`GOOGLE’S INFRINGEMENT IS WILLFUL
`35. Google has undertaken this infringing conduct knowingly and
`willfully. Indeed, Google had actual and/or constructive knowledge of Sonos’s
`patents for years prior to the filing of this action.
`36. More specifically, Sonos raised the issue of infringement with Google
`as early as August 2016. In October 2016, Sonos put Google on notice of
`infringement of 28 Sonos patents, including asserted United States Patent Nos.
`8,588,949, 9,195,258, and 9,219,959. Later in January 2018, and then again in July
`2018, Sonos put Google on notice of infringing even more Sonos patents. Yet
`again, in February 2019, Sonos put Google on notice of infringement of 100 Sonos
`patents, including asserted United States Patent No. 10,209,953. In addition, Sonos
`provided a pre-filing copy of this Complaint to Google, thereby providing further
`notice of infringement of the patents-in-suit, including United States Patent No.
`10,439,896.
`37. As another example, Google has been aware of (or, at a minimum, was
`willfully blind to) Sonos’s patents well before August 2016 in view of Sonos’s
`previously-filed patent litigation against D&M (another direct competitor of Sonos
`and Google) and its infringing Denon HEOS system – Sonos Inc. v. D&M Holdings,
`Inc., C.A. No. 14-1330-RGA (D. Del.) (“the D&M Litigation”). See Ex. 47. This
`prior litigation, initiated in 2014, lasted more than three years, garnered media
`attention across the industry, and resulted in a jury verdict for Sonos on all counts,
`including, inter alia, willful infringement of two of the patents-in-suit asserted here
`against Google – United States Patent Nos. 8,588,949 and 9,195,258. See, e.g., Ex.
`48 (2014 VentureBeat article entitled “Sonos sues Denon, alleging wireless speaker
`patent infringement”); Ex. 49 (2014 CNET article entitled “Sonos sues Denon for
`‘copying’ its wireless products”); Ex. 50 (Sonos v D&M jury Verdict Form finding
`for Sonos on all counts).
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`Case 2:20-cv-00169-JAK-DFM Document 1 Filed 01/07/20 Page 14 of 96 Page ID #:14
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`Further, Google has also been aware of (or, at a minimum, was
`38.
`willfully blind to) Sonos’s patents well before Sonos provided Google notice of
`infringement because Google’s development of competitive products since the
`launch of its Google Wireless Audio System in 2015 occurred against the backdrop
`of: 1) a decade in which Sonos was the recognized pioneer in the wireless audio
`industry; 2) Google’s partnership with Sonos dating to at least as early as 2013; and
`3) Sonos’s prominent display of its patents on Sonos’s website, and Sonos’s
`inclusion of a notice of its patents in Sonos’s product inserts/manuals as well as the
`Sonos app.
`
`THE PARTIES
`Plaintiff Sonos, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place
`39.
`of business at 614 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101. Sonos is the
`owner of the patents-in-suit.
`40. Defendant Google LLC is a Delaware limited liability corporation
`with its principal place of business at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View,
`CA 94043. Google LLC also maintains other established places of business,
`including established places of business in this district at, for example, 340 Main
`St, Venice, CA 90291 and 12422 W Bluff Creek, Playa Vista, CA 90094.
`41. Google LLC is one of the largest technology companies in the world
`and conducts product development, engineering, sales, and online retail, search, and
`advertising operations in this district.
`indirectly develops, designs,
`42. Google LLC directly and/or
`manufactures, distributes, markets, offers to sell, sells, and/or imports the infringing
`Google Wireless Audio System at issue in this litigation in/into the United States,
`including in the Central District of California, and otherwise purposefully directs
`infringing activities to this District in connection with its Google Wireless Audio
`System.
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`Case 2:20-cv-00169-JAK-DFM Document 1 Filed 01/07/20 Page 15 of 96 Page ID #:15
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`43. As this is a civil action for patent infringement arising under the patent
`laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., this Court has subject matter
`jurisdiction over the matters asserted herein under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).
`44.
` This Court has personal jurisdiction over Google because, pursuant to
`Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b)(3), Google has: (1) availed itself of the rights and benefits of
`the laws of the State of California, (2) transacted, conducted, and/or solicited
`business and engaged in a persistent course of conduct in the State of California (and
`in this District), (3) derived substantial revenue from the sales and/or use of
`products, such as the infringing Google Wireless Audio System, in the State of
`California (and in this District), (4) purposefully directed activities (directly and/or
`through intermediaries), such as shipping, distributing, offering for sale, selling,
`and/or advertising its infringing Google Wireless Audio System, at residents of the
`State of California (and residents in this District), (5) delivered its infringing Google
`Wireless Audio System into the stream of commerce with the expectation that the
`Google Wireless Audio System will be used and/or purchased by consumers, and (6)
`committed acts of patent infringement in the State of California (and in this District).
`45.
`This Court also has personal jurisdiction over Google because it is
`registered to do business in the State of California and has one or more regular and
`established places of business in the Central District of California.
`46. Venue is proper in this District under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. §
`1400(b) because, as noted above, Google has committed acts of infringement in this
`district and has one or more regular and established place of business in this district.
`PATENTS-IN-SUIT
`Background
`Sonos was founded to solve various shortcomings in existing
`47.
`conventional audio technology. At the time, a “conventional multi-zone audio
`system” was based on a “centralized” device that was “hard-wired” to “audio
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`Case 2:20-cv-00169-JAK-DFM Document 1 Filed 01/07/20 Page 16 of 96 Page ID #:16
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`players” in different rooms with dedicated speaker wire. See, e.g., ‘949 Patent at
`1:41-47, 1:57-60; see also, e.g., ‘959 Patent at 6:54-61. These “audio players” were
`basic “speakers” that passively received and outputted audio signals but lacked
`processing capabilities. See, e.g., ‘949 Patent at 1:41-60.
`48.
`In this conventional “hard-wired” configuration, each audio player
`relied on a “centralized” device that managed and controlled the multi-zone audio
`system. Under this approach, audio sources were either hard-wired to the
`“centralized” device, which made playing different audio sources at different audio
`players difficult (if not impossible), or hard-wired locally at a given audio player,
`which “[made] source sharing difficult.” See, e.g., ‘949 Patent at 1:45-56. For
`example, before an audio player could play audio from a source, a user had to
`configure the centralized device to route audio to the audio player from the common
`source. See, e.g., id. at 1:50-60.
`49.
`In these conventional “hard-wired” systems, it was difficult or
`impossible to play different audio sources on different audio players, “group” and
`control audio players, access and play network-based audio sources (e.g., Internet
`radio), and install and configure the system in the first instance, which required
`physically connecting every device to the “centralized” device. See, e.g., ‘949
`Patent at 1:34-2:13; ‘959 Patent at 6:52-61.
`50. As recognized in 2005 when Sonos released its first products, Sonos
`developed a series of new technologies to solve the many shortcomings of
`conventional hard-wired audio systems, thereby revolutionizing the field. In turn,
`Sonos’s own
`introduction of paradigm-shifting
`technology created new
`technological opportunities and/or challenges that Sonos further solved.
`51.
`For starters, Sonos provided an unconventional system architecture
`comprising “zone players” (also referred to as “playback devices”) on a computer
`data network that were controlled by physical “controller” devices. See, e.g., ‘949
`Patent at FIG. 1; ‘258 Patent at FIG 1. The following figure illustrates a simplified
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`Case 2:20-cv-00169-JAK-DFM Document 1 Filed 01/07/20 Page 17 of 96 Page ID #:17
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`diagram of an exemplary Sonos audio system in accordance with this new system
`architecture, which comprises “zone players” 102, 104, and 106 and “controllers”
`140 and 142 coupled to one another by a local data network 108 and two local audio
`sources 110 and 112 along with a connection to the Internet:
`
`‘949 Patent at FIG. 1; see also, e.g., ‘258 Patent at FIG. 1.
`52. Unlike audio players in conventional “centralized,” “hard-wired”
`multi-zone audio systems, Sonos’s “zone players” were “independent playback
`devices” with a data network interface and processing intelligence enabling each
`“zone player” to independently access and play back any audio source available on
`a local data network