Strategy in TECH...
This long and complex series of intertwined legal actions between Monster LLC (and all other Monster related parties) and Beats Electronics LLC (and all other Beats related entities) seemed to be winding down. Back in 2016, I reported on the lower court ruling in favor of Beats who had filed several motions for summary judgment. It seemed as though this was the end, but in 2018, more actions ensued.
Milwaukee, WI based Koss Corporation (NASDAQ:KOSS) last month launched a significant litigation effort against several major industry brands in an effort to assert and protect its IP portfolio rights. On July 22, 2020, Koss filed lawsuits against each of Apple, Inc., Bose Corporation, PEAG LLC dba JLAB Audio, Plantronics, Inc., and Skullcandy, Inc. Each of these auspicious brands, Koss says, are infringing on their patents covering wireless headphones and speakers.
Sonos Inc. and Lenbrook Industries announced today that they have reached a settlement agreement bringing the patent litigation brought by Sonos to a close. The agreement is confidential, so no terms were disclosed.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has announced that it is launching a patent investigation into various speaker and controller products offered by Alphabet Inc.’s Google brand. This investigation initiation is the result of a formal complaint made by Sonos, Inc. who makes similar products that compete with Google, and claims the tech giant stole their technology.
Sonos, Inc. this week reported a strong first quarter for their 2020 fiscal year. In fact, the company says it had a record quarter with strong revenue and profit gains.
This Friday, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence will testify before a Congressional committee (the House antitrust subcommittee) that is investigating the issue of competition in digital markets. Or, I should say, they are investigating whether the tech giants – Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, etc. – are engaging in anti-competitive activities in violation of the law. The Sonos CEO is likely to complain that Google is in fact anti-competitive. Spence’s appearance takes place literally just days after it has filed a major patent infringement lawsuit against Google – alleging that the tech giant stole its proprietary technology…making them a victim.
Sonos announced on Tuesday that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against tech powerhouse Google – by far their biggest…and potentially riskiest…action yet. And perhaps keeping Emerson’s quote in mind, Sonos took a double punch at the king, filing a lawsuit against Google in the District Court for the Central District of California…AND at the same time, filing a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission. This is the first time, Sonos has started a war on two fronts, suggesting to me that they are deadly serious in this effort.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against B&H Photo Video alleging that the NY retailer has operated a scheme to avoid paying the State of New York millions of dollars in taxes on money earned from manufacturer reimbursements. The State says B&H violated New York Tax Law, New York Executive Law, and the New York False Claims Act, and for this reason is asking the court for treble damages that are potentially in the tens of millions of dollars.
After receiving a stipulation allowing them more time to respond, Lenbrook Industries Ltd, and Lenbrook America, last week filed their response to the Sonos patent litigation they were hit with in June. It was a robust and smart response that clearly communicated that Lenbrook planned to give no ground in this dispute.
While perhaps not quite as audacious as the D&M response when they were first dealt the blow of litigation…Lenbrook offered a smart and savvy response that not only pushed back but seemingly undercuts many of Sonos’ core allegations..and patents.
As Strata-gee recently reported, there are currently seven active lawsuits that have been filed against Control4 and their Board of Directors in the wake of their acquisition by SnapAV. In a new DEFA14A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, the company addresses the issue of these lawsuits – saying that they are going to fight them. But then they do something very curious – they file an amendment to their original Schedule 14A filing, their Proxy Statement, with added information that appears to add missing material in response to allegations in the lawsuits filed against them.
