Verdict of $15 million against Google in US trial for infringing audio patents
According to a verdict made public on Wednesday, a Delaware federal jury has ordered Alphabet’s Google to pay $15.1 million to Personal Audio LLC, a patent-holding company, for violating two patents related to audio software.
Personal Audio claimed that Google’s music app Google Play Music included features for downloading, navigating and editing playlists that infringed its patent rights.
The jury also said Google willfully infringed the patents, which could lead the judge to increase the award by up to three times the amount of the verdict.
Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said Wednesday that the company was disappointed by the ruling and plans to appeal. He said the ruling is for “removed product” and will not affect customers.
A spokeswoman for Personal Audio’s law firm, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, said Wednesday that the company is pleased with the verdict.
Beaumont, Texas-based Personal Audio had sought $33.1 million in damages, according to a May court filing. It first sued Google in 2015 over the patents in a lawsuit that was later moved from Texas to Delaware.
The Delaware ruling comes less than a month after a San Francisco jury ordered Google to pay Sonos $32.5 million for patent infringement in a broad intellectual property dispute between the companies over smart speaker technology.
