Not intentionally, but they did sell something with a feature, only to remove that feature later.
The issue isn’t that they got sued and have to remove that feature from future speakers. The issue is that they removed the feature from devices they already sold.
In reality, Sonos is not even required to license the ‘technology’ and should they decide to do so, they can ask whatever price they want. Would you suggest there is some legal way to make Google liable for that?
Yes, in the same way that the manufacturer of a physical product may be sued for damages. Suppose I buy a pair of scissors. Fancy new scissors, with some whiz-bang feature that makes them really cool scissors that can cut through anything. Now, the manufacturer is sued for violating a patent, and loses the case. The manufacturer may end up paying a fine to the patent holder. The manufacturer may no longer be allowed to sell those scissors, or to sell repair kits for those scissors. But the manufacturer may not break into my house, take the scissors out of my drawer, and modify them. I've bought them, and the manufacturer no longer has any right to change them.
The problem isn't just that Google removed a feature from an existing product. The problem is also that Google has the ability to do so in the first place.
Well, Google has already infringed on the devices sold. So, yes they are liable for that.
For new devices, Google wouldn’t need to include the same functionality — new customers won’t be expecting the functionality.
What I’m curious about is why they removed the functionality from existing devices. That just opens them up to another lawsuit, this time from customers (for bait and switch). I’m sympathetic… they are in a damned if you do/damned if you don’t situation. And this is probably the cheapest way out.
The issue isn’t that they got sued and have to remove that feature from future speakers. The issue is that they removed the feature from devices they already sold.