Decoder with Nilay Patel

Inside Sonos' decision to sue Google with CEO Patrick Spence and CLO Eddie Lazarus

Mar 1, 2022

Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos, leads the charge against tech giants, while Eddie Lazarus, the Chief Legal Officer, lays out the legal landscape. They dive into the decision to sue Google over patent infringements, detailing how Sonos carefully selected just five out of over 150 patents. The duo highlights the challenges of protecting innovation in a competitive market and the implications of their landmark legal battles. Their courageous stance not only shapes Sonos’ future but also ignites a discussion on fair competition in tech.

01:05:21

Episode guests

Eddie Lazarus

Patrick Spence

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

4min

Sonos: Innovation and Adaptation

25min

Navigating Cross-Subsidization and Anti-Competitive Practices

2min

Navigating Legal Battles: Sonos vs. Google

2min

Sonos vs. Google: A Battle for Innovation

17min

The High Stakes of Congressional Testimony

2min

Sonos and the Battle for Fair Competition

9min

Engagement and Promotions: Wrapping Up the Episode

2min

This week I sat down with Patrick Spence, the CEO of Sonos, and Eddie Lazarus, his Chief Legal Officer. I wanted both Patrick and Eddie on the show to talk about when a company like Sonos makes the decision to head to the courts and increasingly, Congress. Sonos has long accused other tech giants of stealing its tech, but in 2019 it actually sued Google for patent infringement. Sonos recently won that lawsuit at the US International Trade Commission, which ruled that Google infringed all five patents Sonos brought to court. I wanted to understand how Patrick and Eddie decided to take the risk of a lawsuit here – Sonos claims Google actually infringes over 150 patents, so how did they pick.. Five.. to sue over?

Links:

Sonos sues Google for allegedly stealing smart speaker tech

Sonos CEO will testify to lawmakers after suing Google

Google countersues Sonos for patent infringement

Sonos sues Google for infringing five more wireless audio patents

A judge has ruled that Google infringed on Sonos’ patents

Sonos says Google is blocking it from offering more than one voice assistant at once

Transcript:

https://www.theverge.com/e/22719377

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Today’s episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.