Want a subscription-free, Oura-like smart ring? You need act fast. Here's why

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways 

• Oura won a patent quality with Ultrahuman and RingConn. 
• The 2 competitors infringed connected signifier origin patents, the ITC ruled connected Aug. 21. 
• Ultrahuman and RingConn astute rings tin nary longer beryllium sold successful the US. 

Oura secured a last ineligible triumph successful its patent quality with Ultrahuman and RingConn past week. The US International Trade Commission's ruling asserts that the 2 competing astute ringing brands infringed connected Oura's patents to make astute rings of their own. 

The ITC issued cease-and-desist orders banning the 2 brands from importing and selling their astute rings successful the US. This narrows the astute ringing market's competition, taking 2 large competitors retired of the crippled and giving Oura adjacent much dominance successful the wearables space. 

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The cease-and-desist bid takes effect 60 days aft the decision's August 21 publication, and its submission to the Office of the US Trade Representatives, which an Oura spokesperson said is expected this week. 

"This ruling establishes astatine the astir rigorous levels of reappraisal that Ōura's patents are valid and enforceable, and reinforces not lone the spot of Ōura's patents but our semipermanent IP strategy," Oura writes successful a blog post. 

The archetypal ITC determination came successful April and claimed that both brands engaged successful dishonest tactics to make the signifier origin of their astute rings. 

When ZDNET requested remark connected the archetypal determination respective months ago, an Oura spokesperson said that some products infringe connected "every constituent of each asserted assertion of Oura's patent." 

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The 2 competing astute ringing brands were known arsenic subscription-free alternatives to the higher-priced Oura Ring, a instrumentality whose latest procreation begins astatine $350, alongside an further $7 monthly rank interest for afloat entree to information capture. 

In effect to the ITC's ruling, Ultrahuman said, "We are moving guardant with assurance and doubling down connected compliance portion accelerating improvement of a next-generation ringing built connected a fundamentally caller architecture. As galore observers recognize, restricting contention risks less choices, higher prices, and slower innovation." Ultrahuman added that consumers tin inactive acquisition the Ring Air straight done Oct. 21.

RingConn did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. 

The ITC made the ruling connected Aug. 21. On that aforesaid day, Ultrahuman announced it would beryllium taking Oura to tribunal successful India, alleging that the astute ringing marque infringed connected its patents for its sensors, construction, and onboard process, according to a property release. 

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Ultrahuman's and RingConn's astute rings are inactive disposable to acquisition connected prime retailers similar Amazon, but they volition astir apt beryllium closing up store successful the US precise soon, present that the ruling is confirmed and cease-and-desist orders person been instituted.