Reject Import Ban Sonos Seeks on Google, AFB, CDT, PK, R Street, CCIA Ask ITC

that. Smart speakers “provide a significant opportunity for improving the accessibility of the home and even office environments,” commented the American Foundation for the Blind. They “may provide important content, such as on-demand weather reports, news, music, and podcasts, to individuals who do not use computers or smartphones,” AFB said. “This benefit may be especially important to people who are still acquiring assistive technology skills.” Groups including Public Knowledge and R Street Institute worry U.S. "consumer and economic welfare" would be hurt by banned imports of “mobile phones, tablets, and laptops” covered in the proposed exclusion order, they told the ITC. They cited the breadth of the Sonos-sought order, "narrow nature of the asserted patent claims, and the availability of full relief under the U.S. patent law." The ITC "should recognize that the interest in enforcing complainant’s patent rights is only weakly implicated in this requested investigation," said the groups. The Center for Democracy & Technology said blind and visually impaired individuals rely on voice-activated speakers “to make their homes work efficiently.” Seniors "who depend on voice-activated speakers are particularly sensitive to market exclusion orders that deprive them of the benefits of competition,” CDT wrote. The Computer & Communications Industry Association and Developer's Alliance criticized what they said was the overly wide scope of the proposed import ban. "Excluding personal mobile electronic devices such as those identified in the complaint risks depriving American consumers of basic modern communication tools, even though those devices are not themselves alleged to contain any infringing functionality," they said.