Samsung Sues Oura
Numerous leaks and pre-announcements have made it plain that Samsung will release a smart ring competitor in July as a companion to its Galaxy products and competitor to Oura – Galaxy Ring.
More: Very Detailed Ultrahuman Ring Air Review
Oura is known to be litigious and protective of its patents as evidenced by cases against Circular, RingConn and Ultrahuman
More: Buy Ultrahuman Ring – it’s as good as the other rings with no subscription
Here’s The Twist
Samsung has filed a preemptive lawsuit against Oura, a Finnish smart ring company, alleging that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Ring does not infringe on Oura’s smart ring patents.
Some Case Details
In detail: RPXCORP
Oura effectively almost patents “the smart ring” in its widest sense, asserting competitors infringe its patents by incorporating common features, such as electronics, sensors, battery, LED, motion sensors, Bluetooth, and software features like strain and recovery scoring.
Samsung’s lawsuit argues that the Galaxy Ring does not infringe on Oura’s patents, as it has different components, and different battery placement, and does not use a server to calculate health metrics like Oura’s patents describe.
What this Means
This is an extremely serious commercial attack against Oura.
Unlike the earlier cases, Samsung obviously has a mighty, almost bottomless, legal war chest. The pre-emptive action will likely stop Oura from restricting or stopping Samsung’s launch, perhaps even tying up the company’s legal actions for a considerable period.
In the longer term, should Samsung win, it will become easier for other new entrants. Again, that’s not good news for Oura.
This could be a turning point in Oura’s fortunes but only if the competitors are good enough or cheap enough.