Siri at centre of Google patent suit
Alphabet-owned Google is allegedly infringing six patents relating to Siri, Apple’s famous voice assistant technology, according to a lawsuit served by a licensing company earlier this week.
IPA Technologies, a subsidiary of Canadian IP licensing company WiLAN, filed the complaint at the US District Court for the District of Delaware on Monday, February 26.
In the claim, IPA alleged that voice-activated Google Assistant and other Google programs infringe six patents that IPA acquired from non-profit research institute SRI International in 2016.
“For more than 70 years, SRI has led the discovery and design of ground-breaking products, technologies, and industries”, said the claim, adding that SRI has conducted fundamental research and development related to intelligent personal assistants.
SRI granted a non-exclusive licence relating to its voice technology to Apple. The patented technology was used to create Apple’s voice assistant Siri, which was released as an iPhone application in February 2010, according to the claim.
The six patents are US patent numbers 6,851,115; 7,069,560; 7,036,128; 6,742,021; 6,523,061; and 6,757,718.
IPA said that Google encourages users to use a method claimed in IPA’s proprietary technology through the “very nature” of its products, for example by using a “computer-implemented method for communication and cooperative task completion among a plurality of distributed electronic agents”.
Google has been “wilfully, wantonly, and deliberately” infringing the patents through its “unauthorised use” of the patents owned by IPA, according to the claim.
IPA is seeking a permanent injunction as well as damages, including a “reasonable royalty for the use made of the invention”.
WiLAN has now challenged 15 large technology companies at the Delware district court, according to local legal news outlet Delaware Law Weekly. In October 2016, WiLAN launched lawsuits against Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer, and ASUS, all of which have been settled.
The licensing company also brought a suit against Amazon in relation to its personal digital assistant Alexa, and then against companies such as Sony, Microsoft, and HTC, said Delaware Law Weekly.
Amazon has moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that IPA’s patents are invalid and directed towards patent-ineligible subject matter.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today’s top stories
Brexit withdrawal agreement: the IP conundrums around Northern Ireland
The Wild Geese accuses Bacardi of spying in TM clash
EU court rules in favour of Adidas’s three-stripe mark, again
