Oura is one of the better established competitors for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Ring, as the company's smart rings have been in the market for some time. Oura has a tendency to file lawsuits against companies who come out with similar products, but Samsung is taking a novel approach to protect the Galaxy Ring.
It has sued Oura in the United States to effectively prevent Oura from suing it once the Galaxy Ring is released. Samsung doesn't want Oura's legal claim to have any legs to stand on, thereby preventing any potential issues for the Galaxy Ring once it hits the market.
Samsung wants a clear path for the Galaxy Ring
Samsung is seeking a judgement from the federal court in California that the upcoming Galaxy Ring doesn't infringe on five Oura patents that cover features “common to virtually all smart rings.”
The company further claims that Oura has a pattern of suing its competitors as a “declared strategy of asserting infringement against all entrants in the smart ring market.” Samsung views this habit as an “imminent risk to Samsung and the sale of its Galaxy Ring product.” The complaint was filed by Samsung in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
The features that Oura has sued other smart ring manufacturers, including Ultrahuman, Circular, and RingConn, over include a summary of the sensors' measurements shown to users in the form of a score, the inclusion of batteries, electronics, and sensors in a smart ring. Samsung also highlights an instance in its lawsuit where Oura sued at least one manufacturer of a smart ring ever before that product was delivered to customers in the United States.
Oura has hinted at potentially deploying its patent arsenal against Samsung. When the Galaxy Ring was unveiled on January 17, 2024, Oura CEO Tom Hale gave a statement highlighting Oura's “strongest IP (patent) portfolio” the very next day. The following week, Hale said in an interview that Oura will closely monitor Samsung's development of the Galaxy Ring to see whether any patent violations occur, and that “we'll take action that's appropriate.”
Samsung wants the court to declare that the company doesn't directly or indirectly infringe any of Oura's asserted patents with the Galaxy Ring, prevent Oura from asserting infringement action against Oura. It would be interesting to see how Oura responds, though it wouldn't be surprising if it opposes Samsung's submissions before the court.
Oura is already terrified of Samsung's entry into the smart ring market. It has been trying to sell as many smart rings as possible, even though Amazon where it didn't previously sell its products, because it realizes that Samsung's massive presence in the personal electronics market will out shadow whatever market share it has amassed so far.
