In case you’ve been following final 12 months’s smart ring drama, you might have seen that the variety of health-tracking rings you should purchase has shrunk since October 21, 2025.
As we reported in August, the US Worldwide Commerce Fee dominated in favor of Oura in a patent case through which Oura alleged that its rivals RingConn and Ultrahuman had infringed on the corporate’s patent for a wise ring that tracks well being and health stats. Oura’s victory subsequently led to RingConn and Ultrahuman being banned from importing new rings into the US.
The lawsuit was dangerous information for each Oura rivals, and particularly Ultrahuman, which had deliberate to broaden its US-based manufacturing facility to satisfy rising market demand (and ostensibly to additionally get across the new US tariffs). Ultrahuman is distinguished from Oura in that its good ring doesn’t have a subscription; Oura customers pay $6 monthly to make use of its rings.
I caught up briefly with Ultrahuman’s chief enterprise officer, Bhuvan Srinivasan, to make clear the corporate’s subsequent steps to handle the US market, and discover out extra in regards to the newest good ring squabbles.
Why Had been the Rings Banned?
The ITC dominated that RingConn and Ultrahuman had infringed on the 178 patent, which protects a particular ring {hardware} design—for instance, if the ring has a layered association with inside and exterior elements housing inside electrical elements.
In case you suppose this can be a surprisingly broad description that may cowl … nicely, just about any good ring, or a variety of digital units normally, you might be appropriate. Over the previous few years, many good ring producers have been embroiled in authorized disputes over this patent.
This has panned out in a couple of alternative ways. In 2024, Oura introduced that it had reached a multi-year licensing settlement with Round, the French smart ring manufacturer, that might enable Round to proceed promoting new rings within the US. (This transfer appears rather less beneficiant when you think about that my two-week testing interval of the Round Ring 2 was plagued with server and connection issues.)
Additionally in 2024, Samsung tried to preemptively sue Oura in opposition to future patent infringement claims in a case which a choose dismissed. Samsung’s considerations weren’t unwarranted. In late 2025, Oura then filed another complaint in opposition to Samsung (the Galaxy Ring), Reebok (the Reebok good ring), Zepp Well being (Amazfit ring), and Nexxbase (the Luna Ring). Oura then reached a licensing agreement with RingConn and one other competitor, Omate, that might enable the corporate to proceed promoting rings in the USA.
