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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Oura won a patent dispute with Ultrahuman and RingConn.
- The two competitors infringed on form factor patents, the ITC ruled on Aug. 21.
- Ultrahuman and RingConn smart rings can no longer be sold in the US.
Oura secured a final legal victory in its patent dispute with Ultrahuman and RingConn last week. The US International Trade Commission’s ruling asserts that the two competing smart ring brands infringed on Oura’s patents to develop smart rings of their own.
The ITC issued cease-and-desist orders banning the two brands from importing and selling their smart rings in the US. This narrows the smart ring market’s competition, taking two major competitors out of the game and giving Oura even more dominance in the wearables space.
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The cease-and-desist order takes effect 60 days after the decision’s August 21 publication, and its submission to the Office of the US Trade Representatives, which an Oura spokesperson said is expected this week.
“This ruling establishes at the most rigorous levels of review that Oura’s patents are valid and enforceable, and reinforces not only the strength of Oura’s patents but our long-term IP strategy,” Oura writes<!–> in a blog post.
The initial ITC determination came in April and claimed that both brands engaged in dishonest tactics to develop the form factor of their smart rings.
When ZDNET requested comment on the initial determination several months ago, an Oura spokesperson said that both products infringe on “every element of every asserted claim of Oura’s patent.”
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The two competing smart ring brands were known as subscription-free alternatives to the higher-priced Oura Ring, a device whose latest generation begins at $350, alongside an additional $7 monthly membership fee for full access to data capture.
In response to the ITC’s ruling, Ultrahuman said, “We are moving forward with confidence and doubling down on compliance while accelerating development of a next-generation ring built on a fundamentally new architecture. As many observers recognize, restricting competition risks fewer choices, higher prices, and slower innovation.” Ultrahuman added that consumers can still purchase the Ring Air directly through Oct. 21.
The ITC made the ruling on Aug. 21. On that same day, Ultrahuman announced it would be taking Oura to court in India, alleging that the smart ring brand infringed on its patents for its sensors, construction, and onboard process, according to a press release. The India lawsuit has since been dismissed, as Ultrahuman did not disclose the ITC’s determinations in its suit.
“The ITC Final Determination was released after we filed the DHC case and the Court would like us to add more detail and clarify why it is not relevant to the case (it is not relevant because the patents and the jurisdictions are not related),” an Ultrahuman representative writes in an email to ZDNET. Ultrahuman says it will re-file shortly with this clarification.
Nevertheless, Ultrahuman is persisting. In an interview with ZDNET, Ultrahuman CEO Mohit Kumar laid out the company’s options moving forward. The brand has been working on a new smart ring, for one. Kumar said US manufacturing could still allow the company to exist in the US without any imports, thanks to its newly opened Texas factory. The final option is to dispute Oura’s patent, which Kumar calls “a junk patent” and “pretty basic.”
“Of course this was a way to slow down competition, but we don’t care,” Kumar said. “We’re here for long.”
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Ultrahuman’s and RingConn’s smart rings are still available to purchase on select retailers like Amazon, but they will probably be closing up shop in the US very soon, now that the ruling is confirmed and cease-and-desist orders have been instituted.
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Source: Robotics - zdnet.com
