Samsung is looking to protect its Galaxy Ring from becoming embroiled in patent wars by pre-emptively suing the makers of the product’s main rival.
Ahead of the Galaxy Ring launch, which the lawsuit says will be around August, Samsung is seeking a pre-emptive legal ruling against Oura, the company that makes the market leading smart ring.
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Samsung wants a judge to make a ruling that Samsung’s product doesn’t infringe on any of Oura’s patented technology prior to the launch of the Galaxy Ring.
The way Samsung sees it, Oura’s legal department is a little too litigious, having previously sued competitors like Ultrahuman and Circular for preceived patent infringements.
“Oura’s actions and public statements demonstrate that Oura will continue asserting patent infringement against other entrants into the U.S. smart ring market, including Samsung,” the lawsuit reads (via The Verge)
“Oura’s immediate response to the announcement of the Galaxy Ring was to point to the purported strength of its intellectual property portfolio.”
Indeed, Oura has pointed out that it has been granted 100 patents and has requested patents for a further 270. Oura had previously hinted it would be monitoring the technology Samsung brought to the tablet for potential infringements upon its IP.
Samsung is looking to avoid the possibility of those legal entanglements by getting the ball rolling before the Galaxy Ring’s release.
The patent reads: “This action arises from Oura’s pattern of indiscriminate assertion of patent infringement against any and all competitors in the smart ring market, and its statements confirming its intentions to assert its patents against all competitors in the market. Oura develops, manufactures, and sells the Oura Ring, and it also purports to own certain patents relating to smart ring technology. Each and every time a major competitor has developed and/or released a product that competes in the smart ring market, Oura has filed a patent infringement action against that competitor.”
The lawsuit says it plans to “sell the Galaxy Ring in the United States in or around August.”
