Wearable lawsuit recap as Oura, WHOOP and Garmin cases move ahead

The wearable tech industry has had a busy few weeks in court, with smart rings, screenless bands and sports watches all tied to active legal fights. We have covered several of these cases individually, and this follow-up pulls the latest developments together in one place.

Smart rings are where most of the heat is

The most recent development is the one we covered last week. Just like Samsung previously, Zepp Health has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Oura in Texas. The company is claiming the Oura Ring Gen 3, Oura Ring Gen 4 and the Oura app use technology covered by six of its patents. The case focuses on the software and sensor systems behind activity tracking, sleep analysis and health scoring.

That makes the smart ring fight more interesting. Zepp Health is not just defending itself against Oura’s earlier action. It is now going after Oura directly.

Oura, on the other hand, had already filed an ITC complaint against Samsung, Reebok, Zepp Health and Nexxbase over smart wearable devices. That investigation was opened in December after Oura accused those companies of importing and selling devices that infringe its patents. It is one of the higher stakes routes because ITC cases can lead to import restrictions if a company wins.

But Oura has also trimmed part of that case. On April 28th, the ITC said it would not review an earlier decision allowing Oura to withdraw 22 patent claims. The withdrawn claims and the entire ’159 patent are now out of the investigation. That does not mean Oura has lost the case. It means the case has become narrower before the next heavier stages.

WHOOP is trying to protect the screenless band look

WHOOP’s Polar case has also moved forward. The recent update is that Polar has now formally answered WHOOP’s complaint, after earlier exploring a motion to dismiss.

That dismissal route did not go anywhere. Polar first tried to file a motion to dismiss, but the court required a pre-motion conference. After that conference in March, Polar withdrew its request to file a renewed dismissal motion. The court then told Polar to respond, and Polar filed its answer on April 10th.

So the case is now on the normal litigation track. WHOOP still argues that Polar Loop copies the look of its screenless tracker, including the faceless design, woven band, thin metallic side accents and clasp style. Polar denies the claims.

This is not about sensors or recovery algorithms. It is about trade dress, basically whether WHOOP can protect the look of a screenless band. That could become important if more brands try to make health trackers that do not look like watches.

WHOOP also has a separate case against Bevel in Delaware. The recent activity there looks procedural, mostly attorney appearances and early filings, so there is less to say for now. But taken together, the message is pretty clear. WHOOP is watching the screenless band space closely and is willing to go after rivals it thinks are getting too close.

Garmin and Suunto are fighting over watch tech

Sports watches are not staying out of the courtroom either. Suunto sued Garmin last year over several patents, including claims tied to golf shot detection, respiration tracking from optical heart rate data and watch design elements. Garmin has since responded with its own counterclaims.

Garmin’s counterattack makes the case more than a one way patent complaint. The counterclaims pull in technology around GPS antenna design, training and recovery metrics and flashlight hardware.

This case will probably move slowly. Patent disputes usually do. The useful point for buyers is that there is no immediate reason to expect Garmin or Suunto watches to disappear from shelves because of this.

Why this is happening now

The wearable market has matured. That is the short version. Early on, everyone raced to prove that wrist based health tracking, smart rings and recovery metrics could find an audience. Now the big product categories are clearer, so companies are trying to protect the territory they helped define.

Smart rings show this most clearly. Oura helped make the category mainstream. But other companies have moved in with cheaper or more specialised alternatives. Once that happens, patents become part of the competitive playbook. The same thing is now happening around screenless bands, where WHOOP wants to stop rivals from getting too close to its visual identity.

There is also a commercial reason. Hardware margins can get squeezed quickly. Subscriptions, health scoring systems and recovery insights are harder to differentiate than they used to be. If a company believes its rivals are copying core ideas, the courtroom becomes another way to slow them down.