The Oura-Ultrahuman controversy has been the talk of the town. From infringing copyrights to scouting ex-employees, the lawsuit is filled with much drama. While Ultrahuman has not made direct comments on Oura yet, Oura is not hesitant to label Ultrahuman as a “Copy-Cat.”
While so much drama is going on and allegations have been made, it would be interesting to see how the whole lawsuit would affect both smart ring companies’ future. Oura has filed a case against in Texas on September 1, 2023. It has made serious allegations like copyright infringement, copying the whole ring’s appearance, functionalities, and more.
Why Did Oura Is Suing Ultrahuman Ring?
While there is no doubt that Oura is one of the earliest players in the smart ring industry and can be considered a pioneer of smart rings, other emerging smart ring companies like Ultrahuman are giving tough competition.
Since Ultrahuman Ring launched a strikingly similar smart ring and app interface, Oura sued it for copying Oura’s technology. Ultrahuman copied not just the Oura Ring’s appearance and structure but also its functionalities. Before I give you the details about the alle
After going through the Ultrahuman Ring, Oura took no time to file a lawsuit against the Indian Company. The major highlights of the lawsuit are-
- Ultrahuman has allegedly infringed Oura’s patent and copyrighted technology.
- Ultrahuman has allegedly approached and hired ex-employees of Oura Company. It used their knowledge to replicate the Oura ring’s functionality.
- Ultrahuman has allegedly involved the current Oura company’s engineers.
- Getting Oura’s confidential and proprietary information through Oura’s primary investors.
- Ultrahuman has allegedly copied Oura Ring’s material and design. Both the rings use the same material- titanium- making them look alike.
- Ultrahuman has used the same sensors as the Oura Ring. These sensors include an IR PPG sensor, optical electronics, a skin temperature sensor, and a 3D accelerometer.
- Ultrahuman has allegedly copied Oura Ring’s battery components. It is even using the same battery supplier.
- The charging docks of both Oura and Ultrahuman are strikingly similar.
- Ultrahuman is duping Oura’s social media content and promotional sales.
- Ultrahuman has apparently copied a 3D ring image from Oura.
- The Ultrahuman app has also allegedly replicated the Oura app’s layout. It has also copied Oura’s theme for each and every slide.
Here, I am sharing pictures from Oura’s lawsuit-
- Ultrahuman is using third-party platforms like Amazon to sell its imitated product in the US market. Not only this, Oura is also upset because Ultrahuman is shipping directly to the US from its website and from Amazon.
Oura-Ultrahuman Controversy Details
Oura has filed a lawsuit and is seeking justice and compensation for imitating its product. Oura has taken a firm stand against its copyright infringement and issued a statement-
“We will fiercely protect the innovative work of our team and defend against those looking to take a shortcut.”
While there has been no direct reply from the Ultrahuman Company against the Oura Ring’s lawsuit, the founder, Mohit Kumar, has implicitly tweeted on his X account-
“The company in question has been extremely litigious and has sued many emerging companies in our space”, and on his LinkedIn, he posted, “We will win this space, and we will win this fairly.”
It will be interesting to see how the lawsuit impacts not just Ultrahuman but also other smart ring companies. As of now, the matter is still in court, and we have to wait a bit to get the final verdict.
In the last year, Ultrahuman has shown tremendous growth in terms of features and sales. I personally think Ultrahuman is currently the best alternative to Oura. It has all of Oura’s features and more. In fact, Mohit Kumar is active on Reddit and forums as well and is super communicative when it comes to constructive feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wrap Up
The controversy between Oura and Ultrahuman has raised a lot of questions. While Oura has claimed that Ultrahuman is nothing more than an imitation, Ultrahuman has a lot of features that Oura doesn’t have, the favorite one being Glucose monitoring with M1.
As I said, it would be pretty interesting to see how this lawsuit ends. And I will keep you updated on it.
