25/09/2025
As we are getting ready to support the Red Roses in the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup (RWC) final this weekend against Canada, we thought we would have a look into how innovation and intellectual property (IP) are shaping rugby at the highest level.
Smart mouthguards
One of the most talked about technologies ahead of, and during, this World Cup has been the smart mouthguard, which is now mandated for players and has been integrated into standard the Head Injury Assessment.
Mouthguards have been traditionally used solely to absorb impact and protect players teeth. However, at this tournament mouthguards are taking on a greater role of protecting the brain and assisting with detection of concussion.
Due to the physical contact nature of the game, concussions are one of the most pressing issues in rugby, with rising concerns regarding player welfare and the long-term impact of concussions. In a move to address this, World Rugby, the international governing body for rugby union, have mandated that elite rugby players across the globe are now required to wear smart mouthguards in training as well as matches. Encouragingly, World Rugby have reported that there has been a “full opt-in” from players in the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
How do the smart mouthguards work?
The current generation of smart mouthguards being worn by the players at the RWC have been developed through a joint venture between Prevent Biometrics and OPRO. The smart mouthguards combine OPRO’s world-leading expertise in custom mouthguards and Prevent Biometrics’ proven head impact monitoring technology.
The smart mouthguards are fitted with accelerometers and gyroscopes that measure head impacts in real time. If a player receives an impact that exceeds a pre-set threshold, the mouthguard flashes red via a LED light and simultaneously transmits data, via Bluetooth, to the medical staff. This triggers a mandatory head injury assessment of the player.
Referees at the RWC are required to stop play immediately and send the player off for assessment if they see a flashing mouthguard. This is a step forward from the old process, which relied on pitch-side doctors waiting for a break in play to remove the player.
The threshold for rotational force is the same all players and is currently set at 4,500 rad/s², however, for linear acceleration an alert is triggered at 75G for men and 65G for women.
Patent protection
We are pleased to see that this new concept appears to be the subject of multiple patents and patent applications.
Prevent Biometrics hold several patents covering impact monitoring technology and alert generation, including, for example, EP3880111B1, which discloses an impact sensing mouthguard comprising a guard and sensors embedded in the guard that are able to process impact data, and transmit information wirelessly.
EP4314697A1 covers a system for sensing and assessing blast events using a sensing device. The sensing device comprises a motion sensor configured for sensing at least one of an acceleration and a velocity associated with an event and for generating kinematic signal data based on the event. There is also provided a computer-readable storage medium, a processor and a computing device configured to analyse the kinematic signal data to classify the event.
It is clear from Prevent Biometrics’ patent portfolio that this technology is not just limited to mouthguards, however, there are interesting considerations when trying to embed such sensing technology into mouthguards. For example, Prevent Biometrics’ have considered how to protect the sensor technology and circuitry during the moulding design process of mouthguards which often involves high temperatures.
Registered design protection
Patent protection is not the only form of IP protection available for this product. Registered design protection would also be a valuable right to protect the appearance of the smart mouthguard.
OPRO do have some design protection for the shape of their standard mouthguards and also the trays used for moulding, however, given the mouthguards are often moulded to specifically fit each user OPRO may have felt that the shape of the mouthguard, once moulded, varied too much to warrant a wide portfolio of registered designs at this stage.
Design protection could be used to protect the overall shape of the smart mouthguard, with and without colour. The graphic symbol on the front of the mouthguard could be protected by a registered design. Even the appearance of the sensors could be protected, on their own and combined with the mouthguard, assuming that their appearance is not solely dictated by their technical function.
It is also possible, in some jurisdictions, to protected animated designs so it may be possible to protect the shape of the mouthguard combined with a flashing LED light.
Some jurisdictions also allow design protection for the appearance of user interfaces, so design protection could be used to protect the appearance of the various screens of the app that is used to monitor players wearing the smart mouthguards.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup highlights, not only of the growth in the women’s game, but also how technology and IP rights can work together to protect players and grow companies seeking to improve athlete welfare.
