Oura sues rival Ultrahuman again to block US sales of Ring Pro over smart ring patents
The Finnish health tech maker files a federal patent infringement lawsuit in Texas targeting Ultrahuman's redesigned Ring Pro, escalating competition in the US wearable market.
Technology news
Smart ring pioneer Oura Health filed a high-stakes federal patent infringement lawsuit against Indian rival Ultrahuman on Thursday, seeking to block US sales of Ultrahuman's flagship Ring Pro wearable.[1]
In a formal complaint submitted to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Oura alleges that Ultrahuman’s redesigned Ring Pro infringes two core utility patents covering miniature electronic sensor packaging, curved lithium-polymer battery placement, and internal resin potting techniques. Oura is petitioning the court for substantial financial damages and a permanent injunction that would prohibit Ultrahuman from importing, distributing, or selling the Ring Pro across the United States.[1]
The legal battle comes just months after Ultrahuman launched the Ring Pro to bypass a previous US International Trade Commission (ITC) import ban levied against its earlier Ring Air model, which was also found to infringe Oura intellectual property. While Ultrahuman claimed the Ring Pro was engineered from scratch to avoid Oura's patent perimeter, Oura contends the architectural modifications remain willful infringements as the market for screenless health wearables grows increasingly crowded with entrants from Samsung and RingConn.[1]
Our take: Oura's relentless legal defense of its smart ring patent moat demonstrates how fiercely established wearable incumbents must protect physical form-factor innovations. As miniaturized biometric sensing transitions from niche wellness trackers to mass-market consumer accessories, engineering miniature unibody rings without infringing Oura's foundational packaging patents will remain the steepest barrier to entry in personal hardware.