#3 Trademark & Patent Filing: Week Ending 22 October 2026

This is a weekly roundup of new trademark and patent filings from the sports watch and sensor brands this site covers. Trademarks come first, because a registered name usually becomes a product or feature and the name itself is often the clue. Patents follow as evidence of direction, and most never reach a product.

Other sites push out an alert for every patent and trademark the moment it is published. This roundup gathers the week into a single read and keeps your inbox clear. The weekly Deep Dive Digest email covers the wider sports technology news for those who want it.

Also in the Deep Dive series: Regulatory Filing, Legal Files, Fix Files, Feature Files and the Deep Dive Digest.

The most significant filing this week is Polar’s US application for POLAR H12, which follows its EU filing of the same name a week earlier and points firmly towards a new chest strap. On the patent side, Garmin has published an application on estimating torso orientation and forward motion while running, and Whoop has a granted patent on sleep need alongside a new application on core body temperature.

Trademarks

Polar: POLAR H12

Polar Electro Oy has filed the word mark POLAR H12 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office under serial number 50170573, with the filing appearing on 20 October 2026. The class and the description of goods and services could not be read from the official record this week. Polar filed the same name with the EU Intellectual Property Office on 12 October, as reported in last week’s issue.

The name follows the pattern of the H7, H9 and H10 heart rate chest straps, so the most reasonable reading is that H12 is a successor to the H10, which has been the reference strap for many athletes for several years. A second filing in a second major market within a fortnight suggests a launch is being prepared rather than a name simply being protected. For runners, cyclists and triathletes who rely on a strap for accurate heart rate and heart rate variability data, a replacement would matter more than most watch launches.

Evidence: Trademark filed, not independently checked. Likelihood: Likely to ship. Source: uspto.gov, reported from around the web

Patents

The official records and abstracts for this week’s patent publications could not be opened, so the descriptions below are based on the published titles and are worded with that in mind.

Garmin: estimating a runner’s torso orientation and forward motion

Garmin’s application “Torso Orientation and Forward Motion Estimation for Running” was published on 22 October 2026 as US 2026/0325919 (application 19/650,991). The title indicates a method for working out how the runner’s upper body is oriented and how the body is moving forward, presumably from motion sensors worn on the body.

If it shipped, it would most likely feed Garmin’s running dynamics, which currently lean on wrist or chest-strap data for cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time. A better estimate of torso position and forward progress could improve pace and distance where GPS is weak, such as on tracks, in cities and on treadmills, and could add form metrics such as forward lean.

Evidence: Patent application published, not independently checked. Likelihood: Possible. Source: uspto.gov, reported from around the web

Whoop: estimating core body temperature from the wrist

Whoop’s application “Core Body Temperature” was published on 22 October 2026 as US 2026/0324983 (application 19/655,308). The title suggests a method for deriving core temperature, rather than the skin temperature that wrist wearables already report.

Core temperature is the figure that matters for heat training, heat acclimation and pacing in hot races, and today it generally needs an ingestible pill or a dedicated chest-worn sensor. If Whoop could produce a credible estimate from its band, athletes would gain heat-strain guidance without extra hardware, although the accuracy of any such estimate would need independent testing.

Evidence: Patent application published, not independently checked. Likelihood: Possible. Source: uspto.gov, reported from around the web

Whoop: calculating how much sleep the athlete needs

Whoop has been granted US patent 12,765,843, “Determining Sleep Need from Physiological Measurements”, dated 20 October 2026 (application 19/225,049). The title describes calculating a sleep requirement from measured physiological data rather than from a fixed nightly target.

Whoop already shows a nightly Sleep Need figure that rises with training strain and accumulated sleep debt, so this grant appears to protect an existing feature rather than reveal a new one. For athletes, it signals that Whoop regards strain-adjusted sleep targets as core to its product and is likely to keep developing them.

Evidence: Patent granted, not independently checked. Likelihood: Likely to ship. Source: uspto.gov, reported from around the web

Polar: blood oxygen measurement in a wearable

Polar’s application “Wearable Device for Blood Oximetry” was published on 15 October 2026 as US 2026/0314964 (application 19/481,911). The title points to a wearable designed to measure blood oxygen saturation.

Polar has offered limited SpO2 readings on recent watches, so this may describe a more accurate or more continuous approach. Better oximetry would be most useful to athletes at altitude, where blood oxygen helps judge acclimatisation, and for overnight readings that feed into recovery scores.

Evidence: Patent application published, not independently checked. Likelihood: Possible. Source: uspto.gov, reported from around the web

Samsung: blood pressure measurement on a wearable

Samsung’s application “Blood Pressure Measurement Method and Electronic Device Supporting the Same” was published on 15 October 2026 as US 2026/0314943 (application 19/694,044). The title describes a method of measuring blood pressure on an electronic device.

Galaxy Watch models already estimate blood pressure in some markets, but only after periodic calibration against a cuff. A refined method could reduce that calibration burden. For endurance athletes, routine blood pressure tracking is more relevant to long-term health and recovery monitoring than to training itself.

Evidence: Patent application published, not independently checked. Likelihood: Possible. Source: uspto.gov, reported from around the web

Google: shielding the light sensor used to calibrate a watch’s optical readings

Google’s application “Wearable Computing Device Having a Light Blocking Surface for a Calibrator Light Detector” was published on 15 October 2026 as US 2026/0318733 (application 19/177,197). The title describes a physical light-blocking surface around a detector used to calibrate the device’s optical sensing.

Optical heart rate and blood oxygen readings are thrown off by stray light, and calibration is one way to correct for differences between units and between wearers. If the approach reached a Pixel Watch or Fitbit, the practical benefit would be steadier optical readings during outdoor exercise, where sunlight and movement degrade the signal.

Evidence: Patent application published, not independently checked. Likelihood: Possible. Source: uspto.gov, reported from around the web

Oura: assessing cardiac health risk from long-term ring data

Oura’s application “Cardiac Health Risk Evaluation Based on Wearable Device Historical Data” was published in Australia on 15 October 2026 as AU2025259629. The title describes estimating cardiac risk from the history of data a wearable has collected, rather than from a single reading.

Oura already tracks resting heart rate, heart rate variability and temperature trends over months. Turning that history into a cardiac risk indicator would be a step towards health screening, and for older athletes in particular a longitudinal flag could prompt a medical check sooner. Any such feature would face regulatory scrutiny before release.

Evidence: Patent application published, not independently checked. Likelihood: Possible. Source: ipaustralia.gov.au, reported from around the web

Oura: detecting migraines with a smart ring

Oura’s application “Techniques for Migraine Detection Using a Wearable Device” was published in Australia on 15 October 2026 as AU2025239912. The title describes using a wearable to detect migraines.

The likely approach is to look for changes in heart rate, temperature, sleep or activity that precede or accompany an attack. For athletes who suffer from migraines, an early warning could help in planning hard sessions or adjusting race-day routines, although detection of this kind would need clinical validation.

Evidence: Patent application published, not independently checked. Likelihood: Possible. Source: ipaustralia.gov.au, reported from around the web

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Last Updated on 22 October 2026 by tfk the5krunner