The world of wearable technology has become a testing ground for fierce competition, and smart rings stand at the forefront of this battle. Among these, Oura, the Finnish health-tracking pioneer, has made headlines not just for its innovative products but for its relentless legal efforts to protect its intellectual property (IP). As someone deeply familiar with protecting innovation in entrepreneurial ventures, observing how Oura strategically utilizes its patents offers a valuable case study for anyone working in technology-driven industries. Let's explore what’s happening, what’s at stake, and why this matters to you as a founder or business owner.
Oura’s Defensive Strategy in Action
Oura’s legal focus hinges primarily on enforcing its patent rights in markets like the U.S. and Europe, due to surging competition from startups and big-tech players. Names like Ultrahuman, RingConn, and even tech giants like Samsung have faced direct challenges. The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) recently sided with Oura, issuing bans on Ultrahuman’s and RingConn’s products after ruling them as infringing Oura’s IP. Practically, this blocks these competitors from entering one of the world’s most lucrative markets.
But Oura isn't looking solely to litigate competitors out of existence. Instead, it offers licensing arrangements for its technology. This lets competitors enter the market while ensuring they pay for utilizing design and functionality protected by Oura’s patents. For newer founders, this tactic demonstrates how IP can become both a defensive shield and a revenue stream.
The Growing Smart Ring Market
With more than 50 startups entering the smart ring space since 2023, the market is clearly ripe for innovators. The demand for wearables that measure sleep, body temperature, heart rate, and other health indicators has skyrocketed. According to IDC, the global market for wearables is expected to grow by 11% annually through 2026, with wearables generating $156 billion in revenues by that time. Rings, once a niche product, are becoming major players in this space thanks to their unobtrusive yet effective design.
Where Oura excels, and where others have failed to catch up, is not just innovation but brand positioning. The company has built its name as a science-first, premium product backed by endorsements from celebrities and professional athletes. Competitors like Ultrahuman have countered by marketing lower-cost options and highlighting features Oura lacks. However, whether prioritizing affordability or exclusivity, the challenge remains: standing out in a crowded market without stepping into legal minefields.
Lessons in Patent Strategy
For startups and smaller companies, the takeaways from Oura’s strategy are clear:
- Start Early with IP Protection: Oura’s patented components, its curved battery design and sensor integration, form the backbone of its legal advantages. Even before launching commercially, securing patents for your innovation could save you from potential challenges later.
- Balance Innovation and Exclusivity: While Oura is vigilant about copying, it is not completely shutting competitors down. Licensing agreements allow them to collect revenue while simultaneously controlling their market share. As a startup founder, consider collaboration when exclusivity might stifle your growth.
- Document Development: Oura’s success in court relied heavily on its ability to show that competitors reverse-engineered their product. Maintain clear records of your R&D process to protect or defend your product when needed.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Patent litigation is costly and time-consuming, which can derail an early-stage company. Avoid these common traps:
- Waiting Too Long to Register IP: Patents protect the core elements that differentiate your product. If you delay, you risk losing the opportunity to safeguard your innovation.
- Entering Without Legal Review: Budding companies often jump to market without recognizing patent landscapes, leading to accidental infringement. Work with legal experts before taking your first step into a crowded industry.
- Relying Solely on Legal Action: Court battles can drain your focus and finances. Use litigation strategically, as Oura does, to supplement strong business models and customer relationships, not to replace them.
The Bigger Picture
Oura’s moves aren’t just about defending one product. The company is looking at the long-term value of its intellectual property in shaping the next wave of health tech. Through partnerships with healthcare providers and associations, Oura aims to move further into healthcare analytics and clinical applications. This evolution showcases the potential for wearable startups to transition from being product-focused to service-focused, unlocking recurring revenue models in health and insurance sectors.
How Entrepreneurs Can Stay Competitive
If you’re building a hardware or software platform aimed at integrating into users’ ecosystems, like wearable devices, be prepared to face, or navigate around, the IP barriers set by larger incumbents. Here’s a simple guide:
- Research your competitors’ patents thoroughly. Tools like Google Patents or USPTO databases can help identify overlapping claims before you finalize your design.
- Consider filing provisional patents at earlier stages, which allows you to secure an invention placeholder without fully committing financially.
- Be prepared to pivot focus if legal rules solidify against you. For example, adding unique features, using open-source components ethically, or introducing novel applications aligned with unmet user needs can help bypass contested patents.
Final Thoughts
In the increasingly competitive world of smart rings, Oura’s legal maneuvers provide a masterclass in leveraging intellectual property as a strategic tool. It isn’t just about creativity or technical ability, it’s about laying claim to your achievements before someone else does. Entrepreneurs in wearables, and in tech broadly, should take inspiration from Oura’s dual approach of fighting and licensing. It demonstrates the power of patents not just as a legal hurdle for competitors, but as a foundation for fruitful negotiations and diversification into larger markets.
Curious about how to apply patent strategy to your own startup? Explore resources like the WIPO Patent Database or connect with local business incubators to get started. The earlier you protect your hard work, the stronger your foundation for growth.
FAQ
1. What is Oura’s main strategy in protecting its intellectual property?
Oura employs an IP strategy that includes patent litigation to block infringing competitors while also offering licensing agreements for its technology. This helps Oura both protect its market share and create revenue streams from licensing. Explore Oura's IP Strategy
2. Why were Ultrahuman and RingConn banned in the U.S. market?
Ultrahuman and RingConn were found to have infringed on Oura’s form factor patents by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), leading to a ban on the sale of their smart rings in the U.S. Learn about the ITC Ruling
3. What role do patents play in Oura’s competitive edge?
Oura’s patents, like those for its curved battery design and sensor systems, are critical to its ability to protect its technology and block competitors from entering the market without licensing agreements. Understand Oura's Patent Portfolio
4. How does Oura’s brand positioning impact its success?
Oura distinguishes itself as a premium, science-first product supported by endorsements from celebrities and athletes, which enhances its appeal in the wearables market. Learn more about Oura’s Brand Strategy
5. How large is the smart ring market expected to become?
The global wearables market, including smart rings, is projected to grow by 11% annually and generate $156 billion in revenues by 2026, driven by rising consumer interest in health tracking technology. Read more about the Smart Ring Market
6. What alternatives do competitors have instead of shutting down due to Oura’s legal challenges?
Oura encourages competitors to pursue licensing arrangements for its patented technology, allowing them to legally use its innovations while compensating Oura.
7. What lessons can startups learn from Oura's patent strategy?
Startups should begin protecting IP early, ensure thorough documentation during R&D, and stay informed on patent landscapes to avoid costly legal disputes. Explore Lessons From Oura’s Legal Strategy
8. How has Oura evolved from a consumer product brand to a health-focused platform?
Oura is transitioning into a health data platform, leveraging user analytics to enter clinical research, healthcare, and insurance markets. Learn about Oura’s Transition
9. How is competition in the wearable tech space evolving?
The wearable tech industry has seen an influx of 50+ smart ring companies since 2023, including major players like Samsung, Google, and Apple, intensifying competition within the space. Explore Wearable Industry Trends
10. What makes Oura’s legal strategy unique compared to other wearables companies?
Oura’s approach to using litigation strategically, combined with its focus on licensing over outright market blocking, enables it to secure competitors’ compliance while fostering cooperation. Discover Oura’s Legal Approach
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.