Smart ring rivalry heats up: Ultrahuman sues Oura over patent claims

What you need to know

• Ultrahuman has sued Oura in India, accusing the Oura Ring 4 of ripping off its patented smart ring tech.
• The dispute centers on sleep tracking, circadian tools, and women’s health features that Ultrahuman says it pioneered.
• Unlike Oura’s subscription-heavy model, Ultrahuman pushes “no paywall” health data and modular add-ons called PowerPlugs.

Update

As word about Ultrahuman’s lawsuit with Oura spreads, the latter has delivered a statement to Android Central about the matter. Oura’s statement is as follows:

“Ultrahuman’s lawsuit in India has no merit and is a blatant attempt to distract from their decisive U.S. defeat. The International Trade Commission ruled unequivocally that Ultrahuman infringed on ŌURA’s intellectual property, blocking all of their smart rings—and components—from the U.S. market through exclusion and cease-and-desist orders. This ruling validates not only the strength of ŌURA’s patents, but also our long-term IP strategy. We’ve now established, at the most rigorous levels of review, that ŌURA’s patents are valid and enforceable—precedent that will shape the future of this category. The facts are clear: ŌURA innovates, Ultrahuman imitates.”