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Oura Inc. and Oura Health are in a legal battle over their names.
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A lawyer said trademark battles between large and small companies are common.
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These battles can lead to costly litigation and changes in a company’s name and marketing.
The founder of Oura Inc. takes it up Our healtha 10 year old Finnish startup with a Valuation of $2.5 billion which is best known for the Oura ringa fitness and sleep tracker worn by celebrities, Olympic athletes and tech investors.
Keane Veran launched Oura Inc. in 2017 and sold antimicrobial products such as hats, towels and aprons. He applied for a US trademark in 2020 and received it the following year.
Last March, Oura Health filed a petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to revoke the trademark of Oura Inc. claiming the trademark could dilute Oura Health’s brand and confuse consumers.
If Oura Health is victorious, Oura Inc. could lose its federal trademark, which would make it difficult to continue the business without changing the name.
“They essentially demanded that we give up our name and trademark for them,” Veran said. “I never really thought I’d end up in a legal situation with a giant company.”
Michael Cohen, a lawyer who founded Cohen IP Law Group and represents neither party, described this type of trademark litigation between a large company and a small company as very common. It can lead to costly legal battles that many smaller startups can’t afford, along with a change in the smaller company’s name and marketing.
It’s “a typical David versus Goliath situation,” he said.
Filing a trademark request is a common step to eliminate competition
While registering a trademark is necessary to protect a company, it can be used against the company by another company looking to expand into other locations or product categories.
Cohen said Oura Health’s petition is doing everything it can to prevent Oura Inc. retains its federal registration. “The cancellation in itself does not force them to change their name,” he added. “It just prevents them from getting federal registration.”
He said it’s a common scenario. “Larger companies, they grow because of what they do, and then they apply for more and more trademarks and they want a stronger portfolio, and sometimes they get into a conflict like that,” he said.
One way a small business can fight back is to file a counterclaim, as Veran did in July, saying Oura Health had no bona fide intent to use the trademark.
Oura Health told Insider that both companies are in the health and wellness industry, causing confusion.
Oura Health has also filed opposition against Oura Inc.’s sister company, Ouragins, which has filed for a 2021 trademark for antimicrobial medical scrubs.
A representative for Oura Health said in a statement: “We first used our Oura brand long before Oura Inc. or Ouragin, Inc. were founded. We started as a small company with limited resources, but we take our trademark rights seriously.”
US federal trademark rights are based on who used the mark first, which the TTAB will ultimately decide.
Many small companies don’t stand a chance against large companies
In many cases, small businesses don’t bother fighting back because the legal costs are so high that they may not have a business left after the ordeal. Cohen said the proceedings could take years, especially if escalated to a state or federal court.
“Very often they don’t go to the end,” he said. “Most cases are resolved. They don’t go all the way to court because it’s expensive.
But a small business can win “if you have good arguments and merits on your side and you can resist enough,” Cohen continued. “So the main problem is who has a bigger arsenal to resist continuing a lawsuit, because this is essentially like a lawsuit.”
Veran told Insider that his two companies had spent more than $60,000 on the proceedings and that he expected the cost to be about $250,000 per company. Oura Inc. launched one campaign on YouTube and sells T-shirts to cover legal costs.
Veran said that despite the cost, he won’t back down. “We’re not just fighting for us — we’re fighting for our customers, we’re fighting for our employees, we’re fighting for our community,” Veran said. “I think trademark laws are not designed to protect small businesses.”
The dispute is currently in the discovery phase, which means each side is submitting supporting evidence, testimony and documentation. This step is scheduled to continue through April and then the pre-trial and trial phases will continue through the end of the year.
