Smart rings: Samsung files declaratory action against Oura
Even before the launch, Samsung wants to establish that the Galaxy Ring does not infringe any of Oura's patents. A declaratory action is intended.
Samsung wants to protect its Galaxy Ring with a declaratory action against Oura.
(Image: Samsung)
Samsung wants to protect its Galaxy Ring with a declaratory action against Oura: The preventive action is intended to ensure that competitor Oura does not decide to file a lawsuit against Samsung's smart ring at a later date. Oura has been offering such products for several years.
Samsung has filed the declaratory action with a district court in California. The court is to determine that Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Ring does not infringe Oura's patents. Such a declaratory judgment action is necessary, Samsung argues in the statement of claim because Oura has a long history of "arbitrarily asserting patent infringement claims against all competitors in the smart ring market".
Lawsuits against competitors
"Every time a major competitor has developed or launched a product, Oura has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against that competitor," writes Samsung. Oura has sued the companies Ultrahuman, Circular and RingConn, among others, reports the portal IPFray.
Should the court rule in Samsung's favor, this would make future lawsuits by Oura against Samsung more difficult. Samsung's declaratory action is specifically about five patents that describe wearable devices. In his lawsuits, Oura has often relied on "common, general features" that can be found in virtually all smart rings. For example, in the lawsuits against competitors Ultrahuman, Circular and RingConn, Oura argued that a ring with electronics, sensors and a battery infringed Oura's patents.
Samsung announced the Galaxy Ring at the beginning of the year, together with the Galaxy S24. The health gadget was on show for the first time at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It is still unclear how much the ring costs and what data it collects. The lawsuit against Oura indicates that Samsung intends to deliver the Galaxy Ring to US customers in August.
(dahe)