Last year, as Samsung was getting ready to release its first smart ring, the company sued Oura in the United States. Samsung feared that Oura would hinder the launch of the Galaxy Ring through patent infringement disputes and preemptively brought Oura to court. Now, the judge overseeing the case has dismissed it (via The Verge).
In June, Samsung noted Oura's patent lawsuit history. The company alleged that the smart ring brand previously filed baseless suits against its competitors. Samsung claimed that Oura brought its competitors to court for infringing on “features common to virtually all smart rings,” such as batteries and basic health tracking technologies.
Samsung's claim wasn't baseless. The company may have had a reason to fear that Oura would cause the Galaxy Ring issues. Reportedly, as the Galaxy Ring became official, the Oura CEO said it would monitor the Galaxy Ring and “take action that's appropriate.” Samsung then made its move.
Samsung may have played a grandmaster move versus Oura
In essence, Samsung acted before Oura could have the chance to file a supposedly baseless patent lawsuit and hinder the Galaxy Ring's launch in the USA.
Samsung wanted its first smart ring to go on the market without any issues, and in that sense, the company appears to have reached its goal.
Regardless of why Samsung's legal team took preemptive action, the judge has officially dismissed the case, saying that Samsung acted prematurely and that the statements from Oura's CEO aren't proof enough to confirm that the ring maker had any plans to sue Samsung.
Whether this legal dispute will have any ramifications is to be determined, but it's worth noting that Samsung's Galaxy Ring had no launch issues in the USA last year. It did come late to other markets, but that may have had more to do with Samsung's low stock issues than anything else.
The Oura legal counsel said, “Samsung was called on their attempt to battle infringement in a court of their choosing without the existence of any actual dispute.” Samsung hasn't commented on the matter.