The brief ruling from Charles Bullock, the chief
administrative law judge of the U.S. International Trade Commission, did not
explain why Google's sale of the products violated a 1930 federal tariff law,
commonly known as Smoot-Hawley, designed to prevent unfair competition.
Sonos has been trying to block Google from importing Home
smart speakers, Pixel phones and other products from China.
Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sonos said it was pleased with the preliminary ruling, which
it said "confirmed Google's blatant infringement" and furthered its
efforts to defend its technology against alleged misappropriation by larger
rivals.
Shares of Sonos were up 11.4% in after-hours trading.
Friday's ruling is subject to review by the full ITC,
scheduled for Dec. 13 according to the commission's website.
The ITC case is part of an array of litigation between the
two companies, including cases in California, Texas, France, Germany and the
Netherlands, according to regulatory filings.
Google has said Sonos repeatedly sought help during their
years of partnership, and it eventually integrated Sonos products into its Play
Music service and Google Assistant software.
Some Sonos speakers have used voice assistance technology
from Google and Amazon.com Inc. Google's own Nest smart speakers include Google
Assistant technology.
Sonos is based in Santa Barbara, California, and Alphabet in
Mountain View, California.
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