Not yet sold, and already under very close surveillance. While all eyes are on the Galaxy Ring, announced by Samsung during its Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event, the Finnish manufacturer of connected rings Oura is also responding sharply. Its CEO Tom Hale said the company would carefully examine whether the Galaxy Ring infringes on its intellectual property rights, according to Business Insider.
He said the company would closely monitor the development of the Galaxy Ring, Samsung’s smart ring announced last week, to ensure there is no intellectual property infringement. “It is very important to protect the innovations that we bring to market,” said Tom Hale, noting that his company has filed more than 150 patents.
“Realistically, we will see what products come to market,” he added, “and we will see if they infringe (the technology of Aura, the company that markets the Oura ring). Then we will take the necessary measures”.
“It may be difficult for Samsung to design a completely original product”
“It may be difficult for Samsung to design a completely original product,” he said, noting that there could be technical similarities between the Oura product and the Galaxy Ring.
And to detail. According to him, there are no 36 ways “to cram a small number of sensors into a small space”. He also discusses “the algorithms we use to generate vital signs and transform them into meaningful data.”
“This can only be confirmed when the product is on the market and we have proof of it,” he concludes.
The recent Apple / Masimo precedent
And very recent history may prove him right. A recent patent dispute between Apple and medical technology company Masimo resulted in the removal of the blood oxygen measurement feature from the Apple Watch in the United States.
“It’s the old story of David and Goliath,” says Tom Hale, “who would have thought that a company called Masimo, which few people have heard of, could get Apple to withdraw a product.”
Aurora’s Oura ring measures vital functions such as heart rate and blood pressure. These rings also measure blood oxygen levels, but this feature differs from Apple Watch technology because the sensors are placed on the finger and not the wrist.
Source: “ZDNet Korea”