U.S. trade panel opens patent probe into Google speakers after Sonos complaint

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 LLC based on a complaint by rival smart speaker maker Sonos Inc.

The commission said in a statement the Section 337 complaint alleges the import of certain audio players and controllers and their components infringe on Sonos patents.

Some Sonos speakers can be used to access Google Assistant and Amazon.com Echo audio assistance services. The complaint names both Google and Alphabet as respondents in the case, but not Amazon.