Oura wins round 1 in smart ring patent fight against Ultrahuman and RingConn – now what?

Smart ring brands Ultrahuman and RingConn have been found to infringe on Oura’s patent, according to an initial determination from the US International Trade Commission’s Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  

According to an Oura spokesperson, both products infringe on “every element of every asserted claim of Oura’s patent. “

Dishonest tactics

The ALJ found that the patent, which relates to the form factor of the smart ring, is valid as an invention that existed before the Ultrahuman and RingConn smart rings. The two competitors participated in “dishonest tactics,” Oura says in a blog post, to develop their own smart rings. 

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In the initial determination, Oura claims that the competitors purchased and deconstructed Oura Ring devices for their own testing and product development.

Falsified evidence

Oura meets the ALJ’s standard as a domestic industry, and the ALJ also found that Ultrahuman had falsified evidence of a manufacturing facility in Texas, although Ultrahuman testified against this claim.

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“We respectfully but firmly disagree with the recent initial determination and remain confident in our position. Our fast-scaling Texas facility is set to cover 100% of US demand within the next 2-3 months — underscoring our commitment to domestic operations and customer-first innovation,” an Ultrahuman spokesperson wrote in an email to ZDNET.

ITC will review

As this is an initial determination, the full US International Trade Commission (ITC) will review this determination in the next few months and make a final determination. 

If the ITC finds that Ultrahuman and RingConn infringed on Oura’s patent, it could send both companies a cease-and-desist order, effectively stopping operations and sales of their smart rings. Certain features of the competitors’ smart rings may also be disabled or the brands may have to fully redesign the form factor of their rings.

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In the meantime, both RingConn and Ultrahuman can contest the ruling and provide their own evidence.

“The ALJ’s opinion is meaningful to the scientists, developers, product teams, and all of those at Oura who innovate every day to ensure that Oura Ring can continue to shape the future of holistic health innovation,” the Oura team said. 

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The results of this patent infringement could fundamentally shake up the smart ring market, as both Ultrahuman and RingConn are the market’s underdogs, delivering a smart ring with many of Oura’s functionalities but without its subscription fee. 

RingConn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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