Now Ultrahuman is taking Oura to court over smart ring patents
Indian health wearables startup Ultrahuman has turned the tables on Finnish rival Oura Health , filing a patent infringement lawsuit in Delhi High Court after being on the receiving end of similar accusations for over a year.
The company alleges Oura 's Ring 4 brazenly copies its proprietary sensor integration and onboard processing technology, protected by Indian patent IN 549915 titled "Electronic Ring Including Sensors for Monitoring Health and Fitness Parameters."
Granted by the Indian Patent Office on September 10, 2024, the patent covers Ultrahuman's smart-ring architecture with integrated PCB, PPG sensors, temperature and motion sensors, battery, and wireless charging coil. The patent specifically protects the microcontroller processing that derives secondary metrics like sleep stages, sleep scores, and readiness.
Beyond the core hardware infringement, Ultrahuman further accuses Oura of "blatantly copying" its broader ecosystem of women's health features, circadian health tools and glucose monitoring platforms—all delivered without the subscription fees that Oura charges customers.
"We've been deeply focused on helping people do more with their health data by building cutting-edge, non-paywalled features," an Ultrahuman spokesperson said, taking a swipe at Oura's mandatory subscription model.
David fights back after Goliath's early win
The lawsuit flips a bitter legal saga that began in 2023 when Oura first sued Ultrahuman in Texas courts. The Finnish company accused its Indian rival of wholesale copying—from titanium construction and PPG sensors to social media content—while allegedly poaching employees and benefiting from investors including Alpha Wave, Steadview Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners.
Ultrahuman CEO Mohit Kumar had boldly declared on X: "We will win this space and we will win this fairly. We welcome competition in this space and our right to win is our ability to control end-to-end design and manufacturing, coupled with simplified flat pricing and consumer policies."
Yet Oura managed to secure an initial determination from the International Trade Commission in March 2024, though multiple review steps remain pending.
Now Ultrahuman is hitting back hard, accusing Oura of waging a systematic campaign against competitors using US patent 11,868,178—acquired from Motiv via Proxy in 2023 rather than developed in-house. Oura filed complaints against nearly every smart ring competitor just 63 days after that patent was issued.
The company alleges Oura 's Ring 4 brazenly copies its proprietary sensor integration and onboard processing technology, protected by Indian patent IN 549915 titled "Electronic Ring Including Sensors for Monitoring Health and Fitness Parameters."
Granted by the Indian Patent Office on September 10, 2024, the patent covers Ultrahuman's smart-ring architecture with integrated PCB, PPG sensors, temperature and motion sensors, battery, and wireless charging coil. The patent specifically protects the microcontroller processing that derives secondary metrics like sleep stages, sleep scores, and readiness.
Beyond the core hardware infringement, Ultrahuman further accuses Oura of "blatantly copying" its broader ecosystem of women's health features, circadian health tools and glucose monitoring platforms—all delivered without the subscription fees that Oura charges customers.
"We've been deeply focused on helping people do more with their health data by building cutting-edge, non-paywalled features," an Ultrahuman spokesperson said, taking a swipe at Oura's mandatory subscription model.
David fights back after Goliath's early win
The lawsuit flips a bitter legal saga that began in 2023 when Oura first sued Ultrahuman in Texas courts. The Finnish company accused its Indian rival of wholesale copying—from titanium construction and PPG sensors to social media content—while allegedly poaching employees and benefiting from investors including Alpha Wave, Steadview Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners.
Ultrahuman CEO Mohit Kumar had boldly declared on X: "We will win this space and we will win this fairly. We welcome competition in this space and our right to win is our ability to control end-to-end design and manufacturing, coupled with simplified flat pricing and consumer policies."
Yet Oura managed to secure an initial determination from the International Trade Commission in March 2024, though multiple review steps remain pending.
Now Ultrahuman is hitting back hard, accusing Oura of waging a systematic campaign against competitors using US patent 11,868,178—acquired from Motiv via Proxy in 2023 rather than developed in-house. Oura filed complaints against nearly every smart ring competitor just 63 days after that patent was issued.
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