
智能戒指制造商 Oura 再次起诉印度竞争对手 Ultrahuman,寻求阻止其 Ring Pro(上图)在美国销售,这距离该产品重新设计帮助这家总部位于班加罗尔的初创公司在遭遇进口禁令后重返美国市场仅过去几个月。此案是 Oura 对竞争对手智能戒指制造商(包括三星和 RingConn)发起的一系列专利纠纷中的最新一起。
Smart ring maker Oura has sued Indian rival Ultrahuman again, seeking to block U.S. sales of its Ring Pro (pictured above) just months after the redesign helped the Bengaluru-based startup return to the American market following an import ban. The case is the latest in a string of patent disputes Oura has brought against competing smart-ring makers, including Samsung and RingConn.
Oura 在周四向德克萨斯州联邦法院提交的诉状中指控,Ultrahuman 的 Ring Pro 侵犯了其两项专利,涉及戒指的设计和内部组件,包括电池和传感器。Oura 要求获得金钱赔偿和永久禁令,以阻止 Ultrahuman 销售该戒指。
In a complaint filed Thursday in a federal court in Texas, Oura alleged that Ultrahuman’s Ring Pro infringes two of its patents covering the ring’s design and internal components, including its battery and sensors. Oura is seeking monetary damages and a permanent injunction that would stop Ultrahuman from selling the ring.
Ultrahuman 重新设计的 Ring Pro 于 2 月推出,3 月获得美国海关及边境保护局的有利裁决,为该初创公司重返美国市场铺平了道路。这一决定是在 Oura 于去年 8 月从国际贸易委员会获得专利侵权裁决后,Ultrahuman 早期产品 Ring Air 遭遇进口禁令之后作出的。
Ultrahuman’s redesigned Ring Pro, launched in February, received a favorable ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection in March, paving the way for the startup’s return to the U.S. market. The decision followed an import ban on Ultrahuman’s earlier Ring Air, which took effect after Oura secured a patent infringement ruling from the International Trade Commission in August last year.
“Ultrahuman 有抄袭 Oura 创新的历史,这一点已由 2025 年针对该公司的 ITC 裁决所证明,”Oura 发言人在给 TechCrunch 的声明中说。“Ultrahuman 推出了重新设计的戒指,但未能解决对 Oura 专利的持续侵权,反而试图利用我们的创新和我们建立的市场领导地位获利。”Oura 认为,海关的裁决仅涵盖早期纠纷涉及的专利,而非其最新诉讼中引用的两项专利:D804,471 和 12,769,363。“为了保护其专利权,Oura 别无选择,只能提起这起专利侵权诉讼,”该公司在诉状中表示。
“Ultrahuman has a history of copying Oura’s innovations, as demonstrated by the 2025 ITC ruling against the company,” an Oura spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch. “Ultrahuman introduced a redesigned ring but failed to address continued infringement of Oura’s patents, seeking instead to capitalize on our innovation and the market leadership we have built.”Oura argues that the Customs ruling covered only the patent involved in the earlier dispute, not the two patents cited in its latest lawsuit: D804,471 and 12,769,363. “To protect its patent rights, Oura is now forced to file this complaint of patent infringement,” the company said in its filing.
其中一项专利,即第12,769,363号,也是非常新的。它于10月20日授予Oura,距离Oura提起诉讼仅两天。该专利涵盖了一种智能戒指设计,包含弧形电池、电路板、磁铁和传感器等内部组件。
One of those patents, 12,769,363, is also very new. It was issued to Oura on October 20, just two days before it filed the lawsuit. It covers a smart-ring design incorporating internal components such as a curved battery, circuit board, magnets, and sensors.
Oura还将总部位于得克萨斯州的电子制造商SVTronics列为被告。起诉书称,SVTronics在位于得克萨斯州普莱诺的工厂制造Ring Pro,据称是在Ultrahuman的指导和控制下进行的。起诉书还指控,这两家公司均通过在美国制造、进口和销售该设备侵犯了Oura的专利。
Oura has also named Texas-based electronics manufacturer SVTronics as a defendant in the lawsuit. The complaint says SVTronics manufactures the Ring Pro at a facility in Plano, Texas, allegedly under Ultrahuman’s direction and control. It also alleges that both companies infringe Oura’s patents through the manufacture, importation, and sale of the device in the U.S.
Ultrahuman联合创始人兼首席执行官Mohit Kumar告诉《TechCrunch》,这家初创公司对Ring Pro充满信心,将对抗这些新指控。
Ultrahuman co-founder and CEO Mohit Kumar told TechCrunch the startup was confident in the Ring Pro and would fight the new allegations.
Kumar表示:“Oura现在选择主张不同的专利,其中包括一项在提起诉讼前仅两天才获授权的专利。我们将通过适当的法律程序应对这些主张,并将坚决捍卫我们的立场。没有法院命令影响Ring Pro,它仍可供美国客户购买。” 自2023年以来,Oura和Ultrahuman一直在为专利问题争斗,当时Oura起诉这家印度初创公司侵犯其Ring Air专利,后者帮助Ultrahuman在美国打响了知名度。Oura于2024年在美国国际贸易委员会提起单独诉讼,帮助其在去年获得一项裁决,导致Ring Air被禁止进口。
“Oura has now chosen to assert different patents, including one that issued just two days before this lawsuit was filed,” Kumar said. “We will address these claims through the appropriate legal process and will defend our position vigorously. There is no court order affecting Ring Pro, and it remains available to customers in the U.S.” Oura and Ultrahuman have been fighting over patents since 2023, when Oura sued the Indian startup over its Ring Air, which had helped Ultrahuman make a name for itself in the U.S. Oura brought a separate case before the U.S. International Trade Commission in 2024 that helped it secure a ruling last year, leading to the import ban on the Ring Air.
Ultrahuman并非唯一面临Oura法律施压的竞争对手。该公司还对包括三星、RingConn、Circular和Zepp Health在内的智能戒指制造商提出了专利侵权主张。其中一些纠纷已以许可协议告终,RingConn和Circular同意向Oura支付特许权使用费,以继续销售其产品。
Ultrahuman is not the only rival facing legal pressure from Oura. The company has also pursued patent infringement claims against smart-ring makers including Samsung, RingConn, Circular, and Zepp Health. Some of those disputes have ended in licensing agreements, with RingConn and Circular agreeing to pay royalties to Oura to continue selling their products.
这场纠纷出现之际,智能戒指市场仍在持续增长。研究机构 IDC 预计,今年全球出货量将增长 12.8% 至 490 万台,到 2030 年将达到约 630 万台。虽然 Oura 仍是该品类的主要参与者之一,但 Ultrahuman 属于不断增长的竞争对手行列。
The dispute emerges as the smart-ring market continues to grow. Research firm IDC expects global shipments to rise 12.8% this year to 4.9 million units and reach about 6.3 million by 2030. While Oura remains a leading player in the category, Ultrahuman is among the growing competitors.
这起诉讼也发生在 Oura 以市场“存在不确定性”为由搁置其 22 亿美元首次公开募股(IPO)仅几周之后。该公司持续为其智能戒指增加功能,本周早些时候推出了新的健身指标,帮助用户追踪锻炼对心血管健康的影响。
The lawsuit also comes just weeks after Oura shelved its $2.2 billion IPO, citing “uncertainty” in the market. The company has continued to add features to its smart rings, introducing new fitness metrics earlier this week that help users track how workouts affect their cardiovascular health.
9 月,Ultrahuman 从包括高通风投和 Labcorp 在内的投资者处筹集了 7000 万美元,使这家初创公司的估值达到约 3.65 亿美元。该初创公司还在与高通合作开发一款新的智能戒指,可直接在设备上运行更多软件,以期拓展至健康和健身追踪之外的领域,如 AI 交互和游戏。
In September, Ultrahuman raised $70 million from investors including Qualcomm Ventures and Labcorp, valuing the startup at about $365 million. The startup is also working with Qualcomm on a new smart ring that could run more software directly on the device, as it looks to expand beyond health and fitness tracking into areas such as AI interactions and gaming.