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Sonos sues Denon for allegedly copying its wireless speaker tech

If you thought Denon's Heos wireless speakers were a little too similar in purpose to Sonos' range, you're not alone. Sonos has sued D&M Holdings (the company that owns Denon) for allegedly violating "at least" four patents. The audio gear maker accuses the Denon team of making "little to no effort" to distinguish its speakers -- while they look different and have more inputs, the core concept is supposedly the same. Sonos says it's only asking for Denon to come up with "new ideas," and won't chase after royalties if the two sides can reach an agreement. It's not clear whether or not Denon plans to fight back, but it tells VentureBeat that it takes the lawsuit "very seriously" and will have a full response soon.

There is an argument to be made for similarity. Besides functionality, the Heos line even uses a similar naming scheme. However, the complaint also shows that Sonos is feeling the heat now that competitors like Samsung's Shape line and Pure's Jongo are plentiful; as the company says, there's seemingly a "new entrant every month." While there's no word on whether or not Sonos will take legal action against other rivals, its argument that there are multiple firms with "strikingly similar" audio products suggests that the Denon suit is just the tip of the iceberg.