Given that Samsung has been selling smart rings for a while, Oura is among the more experienced rivals to Samsung’s impending Galaxy Ring. Oura frequently brings legal action against businesses that release similar products, but Samsung is defending the Galaxy Ring in a unique way.

In order to effectively stop Oura from suing it after the Galaxy Ring is out, it has filed an action against Oura in the US. Samsung wants to avoid any potential problems for the Galaxy Ring once it is released into the market by not allowing Oura’s legal claim to have any basis in fact.

Clear direction for the Galaxy Ring is what Samsung desires:

Samsung is asking a federal court in California to rule that the upcoming Galaxy Ring does not infringe on five Oura patents covering functionality that is “common to virtually all smart rings.”

Oura has a track record of suing other companies, according to the corporation, as part of a “declared strategy of asserting infringement against all entrants in the smart ring market.” This behavior is seen by Samsung as posing a “serious risk to Samsung and the sales of its Galaxy Ring product.” Samsung filed the complaint in the Northern District of California US District Court.

The presence of batteries, electronics, and sensors in a smart ring, as well as a summary of the sensor measures displayed to users in the form of a score, are among the components that Oura has sued other smart ring makers, including Ultrahuman, Circular, and RingConn, over. Samsung also refers to a case in which Oura filed a lawsuit against at least one smart ring maker before to the product’s distribution to American consumers.

Oura has made hints that it might use its huge patent portfolio to take on Samsung. The day after the Galaxy Ring was shown on January 17, 2024, Oura CEO Tom Hale released a statement displaying the company’s “strongest IP (patent) portfolio.” The week after, Hale stated in an interview that Oura will keep a close eye on Samsung’s Galaxy Ring development to make sure no patents are being violated and that “we’ll take action that’s appropriate.”

Samsung requests that the court rule that the Galaxy Ring does not, either directly or indirectly, violate any of Oura’s claimed patents, and to stop Oura from bringing an infringement case against Samsung. Though it wouldn’t be shocking if Oura disagrees with Samsung’s court filings, it would be interesting to see how it reacts.

Already, Oura finds Samsung’s entry into the smart ring industry disturbing. Realizing that Samsung’s enormous influence in the personal electronics sector will outweigh whatever market share it has so far amassed, it has been pushing to sell as many smart rings as it can, including on Amazon, where it has not previously sold its products.