Oura, Circular Settle Patent Fight With Royalty Fee Deal
Smart ring giant Oura will allow French brand Circular to continue selling its smart ring and accompanying app in exchange for royalty payments
Oura and Circular, a French smart ring brand, entered into a settlement agreement to conclude patent litigation in a Texas federal court and the International Trade Commission.
As part of the settlement, Oura has dismissed its claims against Circular for patent infringement and granted Circular a multi-year license to allow the French brand to continue selling its smart rings and accompanying app in exchange for royalty payments.
Financial details of the arrangement weren’t disclosed.
“Innovation is core to our culture and long-term strategy,” said Tom Hale, CEO of Oura. “The licensing agreement with Circular validates the strength of Oura’s patents and is only possible because of the significant investment Oura has made in research and development.”
“This agreement is a meaningful outcome for our investors, as well as our scientists, developers, and product teams, and all of those at Oura who innovate every day to ensure that Oura Ring provides accurate, actionable insights for our Members,” Hale added.
In March, Hale announced that the company had filed a complaint with the ITC, alleging that Circular along with smart ring brands Ultrahuman, and RingConn infringed multiple Oura patents.
“Unfortunately, when we see companies take shortcuts that imitate and ride the coattails of our innovation, we have no choice but to take action,” Hale had said.
The complaints against Circular related to the Oura Ring’s form factor and its Readiness Score, a proprietary algorithm the Finnish company developed to provide ring wearers with insights about their physical and mental stress factors.
Oura is no stranger to lawsuits; early this month, Samsung sued the smart ring company to preemptively block any smart ring patent claims. Samsung asked a court to find that the Galaxy Ring doesn’t infringe upon five Oura patents. In the lawsuit, Samsung alleged that Oura has a pattern of aggressive IP protection.
The Galaxy Ring is expected to launch in August 2024