The integration between Josh.ai and Snap One brand Control4 will remain in place despite the two companies being embroiled in a lawsuit alleging patent infringement by Josh.ai.

In an email to customers and dealers, Josh.ai says the company is committed to maintaining the integration between Josh and Control4.

“We want to reassure you that nothing at Josh.ai‘s position has changed,” the email reads. “We continue to believe it is to the benefit of the dealer and the customer to have a good integration between Josh and Control4 and to keep the existing integration intact.”

The update comes due to “a few media members” reaching out to inquire about the status of the integration, especially since Snap One is now being acquired by ADI.

“Josh.ai will never make a decision to break the integration which we believe would harm the dealer. Josh.ai was recently announced as the #1 voice solution according to CE Pro,” the company says in the email. “We believe Control4 dealers who want voice control should have access to the most sought-after solution – Josh.ai.”

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Josh.ai has long said it plans to maintain the integration, including in a blog post last year in which it said it was committed to maintaining the integration, saying the integration has been a staple in the industry and began well before Control4 was acquired by Snap One.

“With many years as partners, Josh.ai and Control4 (Snap One) have publicly made announcements and worked together to support our shared dealers,” the company said in the September 2023 blog post. “We fully intend on maintaining that legacy.”

Snap One filed the lawsuit in August 2023, alleging that remote controls from Josh.ai and AVA infringe upon patented technology, trade secrets, and more.

Specifically, Snap One alleges that Josh.ai and AVA’s products violate five of Snap One’s patents relating to remote controls, control systems, media distribution, intercom systems and network architecture.

According to Snap One’s lawsuit, the remote controls in question were essentially copies of the Snap One NEEO remote that AVA employees developed while working for Snap One. Consequently, Josh and AVA have violated additional Snap One proprietary rights including trade dress, trade secrets, and confidential information contractual obligations.

Snap One also claims that Josh.ai breached its agreements with Snap One, including intentionally violating its exclusivity obligations in its distribution agreement with Snap One.

Chris Mortorff, the senior director and assistant general counsel at Snap One, spoke to CE Pro last year, saying the company’s most significant flag is their perceived IP infringement for the AVA Remote and the Josh Remote, and their infringing and copying of our Snap One remotes—the NEEO Remote.”

“That’s really the first nugget and what we want to highlight,” Mortorff told CE Pro last summer. “There are other products that we perceive as infringing as well, but we are really focused in our concerns for those two remotes.”

Josh.ai in April filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying certain patent claims are invalid and that Snap One’s contract claims are contrary to the language included in the software development kit (SDK) agreement.

“From the outset, Snap’s complaints were not adequately investigated. Ultimately it will be shown – either through this motion or subsequent motions following discovery – that all of Snap’s claims are frivolous,” Josh.ai states in the 32-page motion, drafted by legal team at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

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