Samsung is not waiting for Oura to file any lawsuits over patent claims regarding its upcoming smart ring. Instead, the Korean company filed its own lawsuit against Oura in advance, seeking a «declaratory judgment» and claiming that Galaxy Ring does not violate 5 Oura patents.
The lawsuit alleges that Oura has a custom of filing patent lawsuits against competitors based on «features common to virtually all smart rings». In particular, the lawsuit refers to sensors, electronics, batteries, and estimates based on metrics collected from sensors. The case lists instances where Oura sued competitors such as Ultrahuman, Circular, and RingConn, sometimes before they even entered the US market.
For these reasons, Samsung expects to be the next target of Oura’s lawsuit. Shortly after the Galaxy Ring was announced, Oura sent an unsolicited statement to many publishers touting the strength of its intellectual property portfolio and noting that it has «100 issued patents, 270 pending patent applications, and over 130 registered trademarks». The lawsuit also cites a CNBC interview with Oura CEO Tom Hale, in which he said that the company would closely monitor the Samsung Galaxy Ring and «take appropriate action». Samsung goes on to cite several other instances where Hale and other Oura executives touted the strength of the company’s intellectual property portfolio — and the fact that it was willing to take action to protect its patents.
Oura has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also contains some interesting facts about the upcoming Galaxy Ring device. It is noted that the hardware development was completed in mid-May, mass production is scheduled for mid-June, and it is expected to enter the US market «around August this year». The lawsuit also contains a screenshot of the Samsung Health app, which shows the Energy Score feature based on indicators such as sleep, activity, heart rate, and heart rate variability.
Source: The Verge