San Francisco, CA – Samsung has yet to announce a release date for its new Galaxy Ring brand of wearable, health-tracking devices, but it has filed an intellectual property suit in California federal court Thursday targeting a Finnish startup that makes its own line of smart rings.
Samsung Electronics Corp. Ltd. on Thursday lodged a declaratory judgment action saying there’s “an actual, imminent risk” that Oura Health OY will bring a patent infringement case against the South Korean electronics giant.
In January, Samsung teased the launch of the Galaxy Ring at an event in San Jose, California, called Galaxy Unpacked, the company’s major sales show, where it was described by Samsung as “a powerful and accessible health and wellness device” and “a brand-new form factor.” A prototype would not be displayed until the Mobile World Congress, a different sales show, that took place the next month in Barcelona, Spain. A release date or price point for these devices has yet to be announced.
Nevertheless, according to Samsung’s lawsuit, Oura CEO Tom Hale has been going around and threatening litigation in comments to blogs and news outlets. His company, which has been around since 2013, sells its own electronic wearable device called the Oura Ring. Oura started selling the rings, which track various measurements of physical activity, in 2017, and that were once endorsed by Kim Kardashian. In 2022, the company announced that it has sold over a million so far.
