CE Pro August 2023 - 9

CE Pro All-Star Band Set to Return to Expo Stage
CEDIA Expo has announced
the return of the CE Pro
All-Star Band to the event,
which takes place Sept.
6-9 in Denver. The highly
anticipated CE Pro All-Star
Band performance will kick
off after the conclusion of
the CE Pro BEST Project
Awards and Home of the
Year Awards programs on
Thursday, September 7.
The band will reunite
some of the most talented
professionals in the custom
electronics industry for a
90-minute live music showcase.
Covering music from a
range of decades, the CE Pro
All-Star Band will perform
tunes from Cake, Kid Rock,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers,
Foo Fighters, Georgia
Satellites, Stevie Wonder,
Prince, Billy Joel and others.
This year's lineup includes:
Bob Archer, CE Pro, guitar
Tim Bigoness, D-Tools,
drums and lead vocals
Richard Charschan,
AcousticSmart, guitar
Jim Garrett, Harman,
drums
Steve Haas, SH Acoustics,
keyboards
Bret Jacob, Nice, trumpet
Mitch Klein, Z-Wave
Alliance, bass
Vince Luciani, Apex
Technologies, guitar
Jason McGraw, CEDIA
Expo and KBIS, guitar
Rick Santiago, Indy Audio
Labs, saxophone
Patrick Shaughnessy,
Focal Naim America,
guitar and lead vocals
David Silkin, Digital
Sales Group Metro &
DSG Distributors, bass
Featuring manufacturer's
reps, manufacturers,
integrators and even CE Pro
staff members, the professionals
participating in the
band have spent years in the
industry. The CE Pro All-Star
Band provides industry
professionals with a fun, engaging
opportunity to share
their talents at one of CEDIA
Expo's most anticipated
events. Their performance
is an exciting opportunity
for the industry to gather,
network, and celebrate over
a collective love of music.
" I want to thank Brian
Pagel, Jason McGraw and
the rest of the Emerald
team for the opportunity
to play CEDIA Expo 2023
with a very talented group of
industry professionals, " comments
Bob Archer, senior
editor, CE Pro. " I also want
to thank the guys in the
band for giving their time to
learning a diverse setlist that
we think will provide a lot of
live music entertainment for
expo attendees. "
The CE Pro All-Star Band
will hit the stage on Thursday,
September 7, at the
Smart Stage in the Colorado
Convention Center. The
event will follow the CE Pro
awards ceremony, which
begins at 4 p.m.
Sonos Wins $32.5M
Jury Verdict vs. Google
A FEDERAL JURY in the state of California has ruled in
favor of Sonos in a recent patent infringement trial, stating
Google must pay Sonos $32.5 million for using patented
smart-speaker technologies without Sonos' consent.
The final number was based on a royalty calculation
amounting to $2.30 per unit for more than 14.1 million
units sold that infringed upon Sonos' patent. This is a
reduction from the original $90 million in alleged damages
Sonos had purported at the beginning of the trial as per
the judge's decision.
It is yet to be determined whether Sonos will be able
to continue to seek royalties from other companies that
currently rely on Google's technology because of this
most recent ruling.
Originally coming together as partners to integrate
Google Play Music into Sonos products in 2013, the
current legal battle began in 2020 when Sonos sued
Google alleging the company had unlawfully incorporated
elements of Sonos' products into Google's own offerings.
The accusation has since led to a broader legal battle
Featuring an array of industry talent, the band will play a
set following CE Pro's awards ceremony on Sept. 7 at the
Colorado Convention Center.
between the two companies with lawsuits being filed
across multiple countries and complaints being filed with
the US International Trade Commission to block imports
of specific products. Google has also since sued Sonos for
patent infringement of Google's own smart speaker and
voice control technology patents.
Following the outcome, a Sonos spokesperson stated
that the verdict " re-affirms that Google is a serial infringer of
our patent portfolio, as the International Trade Commission
has already ruled with respect to five other Sonos patents. "
" In all, we believe Google infringes more than 200
Sonos patents and today's damages award, based on
one important piece of our portfolio, demonstrates the
exceptional value of our intellectual property, " the statement
said. " Our goal remains for Google to pay us a fair
royalty for the Sonos inventions it has appropriated. "
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August 2023 CE Pro | 9
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CE Pro August 2023

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