Denon Hit With Sonos Lawsuit Over Patent Infringement

If you recall, this past summer Denon revealed its HEOS lineup, something that was obviously poised to compete with better-known Sonos. The latter company didn't fail to notice this, nor has it sat idly by. Yesterday on its blog, Sonos revealed that it has sued the company behind Denon — D&M Holdings — for patent infringement with its new HEOS system products. Says Sonos, it isn't "fans of resorting to the courts", and so it is hoping to sort things out amicably.

Sonos has taken the impressively honorable route with its lawsuit, which it was sure to include a copy of in the same aforementioned blog post. The company isn't looking for kickbacks from Denon, nor to take the legal matter any farther than normal, saying instead that it wants to "sit down with Denon, explain our views and give them time to modify their products."

Sonos isn't interested in setting up a licensing type of deal, instead wanting Denon to stop its alleged patent infringement by developing its own technology. At least four patents are being violated, says Sonos, related to its wireless audio products.

In addition to the patent infringement is also said to be violation of its intellectual property rights. Sonos accuses Denon of borrowing "liberally from virtually all aspects of the Sonos story," including some cases where the company has directly copied some of Sonos' written marketing.

SOURCE: Sonos Blog