Update: Apple has now filed a second lawsuit, which reveals that Masimo was granted access to confidential information and source code. He accuses the company of violating five Apple patents. More details at the bottom of the piece.
A lawsuit filed by Apple yesterday accused medical technology company Masimo of creating an Apple Watch clone in the form of the W1 Advanced Health Tracking Watch.
Masimo denies the allegation and says Apple is simply retaliating against his own lawsuit, where the Cupertino company alleges patent infringement…
Background
The war between the two companies has a long history. In 2013, Apple reportedly contacted Masimo to discuss a potential collaboration between the two companies. Instead, Masimo claims that Apple used the meetings to identify personnel it wanted to poach. Masimo later described the meetings as “a targeted effort to acquire knowledge and expertise.”
Prior to the launch of the Apple Watch, Apple hired a number of Masimo employees, including the company’s chief medical officer.
Masimo CEO Joe Kiano later expressed concern that Apple may be trying to steal the company’s blood oxygen sensor technology. The company describes itself as “the inventors of modern pulse oximeters” and its technology is used in many hospitals.
“Some of the talent (hired by Apple) have access to deep wells of trade secrets and information,” said Joe Kiani, CEO of medical device firm Masimo Corp. Kiani said Apple offers fairly high salaries with little indication of what researchers will do. “They just buy people,” he said. “I hope Apple isn’t doing what we’re doing.”
In 2020, the company sued Apple for stealing trade secrets and infringing on 10 Masimo patents. The lawsuit sought injunctive relief regarding the sale of the Apple Watch.
Apple says the Masimo W1 is an Apple Watch clone
Fast forward two years and now Apple is suing Masimo. The Cupertino company claims that both the design and functionality of the Masimo W1 Advanced Health Tracking Watch make it an Apple Watch clone.
Masimo is a hospital equipment manufacturer that has never been in the consumer wearables business. However, recently, Masimo launched its first watch called Masimo W1 directly to consumers. Instead of independently innovating and developing a product, Masimo copied Apple while suing to try to block the sale of the Apple Watch.
CNET An Apple spokesperson said the lawsuit is aimed at “protecting the innovations we develop on behalf of our customers.” Tom McLenahan, Masimo’s general counsel, claimed this was part of the Cupertino company’s behavior:
Apple’s actions today are a desperate attempt to divert the attention of the world’s largest company from the lawsuits filed by Masimo. The truth is, Apple has a well-established pattern of stealing intellectual property from competitors rather than competing fairly.
W1 design and features
While the Masimo W1 bears more than a passing resemblance to the Apple Watch, the Cupertino company might have a hard time claiming design violations, given the somewhat limited number of ways to design a square smartwatch.
There may be a greater chance of attacking the feature set. Here’s how Masimo explains the W1 functionality:
The first of its kind, the Masimo W1 delivers accurate, continuous health data and actionable health information from the hospital pulse oximetry leader in a personal, lifestyle-appropriate watch.
Building on Masimo’s decades of leadership in creating revolutionary noninvasive blood parameter monitoring solutions, the Masimo W1 offers a variety of physiological data including oxygen level (SpO2), pulse rate, pulse rate variability, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, platelet variability provides. index and perfusion index – for consumers who want to make more informed health and lifestyle decisions, improve their fitness, or track health data on their own or with friends and family.
With the W1, Masimo aims to monetize subscription services rather than hardware.
The second lawsuit from Apple to reveal history
Patented Apple It reports that Apple is now filing a second “more severe” lawsuit alleging that Masimo infringed on five utility patents.
The lawsuit also reveals that a Masimo subsidiary was granted access to confidential information, including Apple Watch source code, alleging that this information was used in the design and creation of the W1 smartwatch. Excerpt from the case:
In January 2020, Masimo filed a patent lawsuit against Apple targeting the Apple Watch. In this case, access to source code and confidential information for Apple’s various Apple Watch models, including details about its structure and functionality, was provided to a board member of Cercacor, a spin-off of Masimo that focuses on research and development. That was two years before Masimo released W1 to the general public.
While Masimo was trying to block the import or sale of the Apple Watch, it was also secretly copying it. Masimo kept his copy until W1 was ready for the public.
When the Masimo W1 went public, it was clear that Masimo was copying Apple. As more details emerged, it was clear that the scope of duplication was wide. In addition to replicating the overall look and feel of the Apple Watch, Masimo W1 takes certain patented features and functionality from the Apple Watch. Apple has worked hard to develop innovative designs and features for the Apple Watch. Masimo took shortcuts.
FTC: We use automated affiliate links that generate revenue. More.
For more Apple news, check out 9to5Mac on YouTube: