The multinational technology major, Apple Inc. has been dragged into a fresh brawl. This time it is not iPhone, but its premium Apple Watch. A pulse oximetry device designing company, Masimo Corp., has leveled serious allegations against Apple of stealing its trade secrets and illegally using its technology in Apple Watch.
As far as the allegation by Masimo Corp. goes, Apple initiated the theft in 2013 by an alleged meeting with the then top executives of Masimo. The meeting was disguised as a meet for potential collaboration. Later Apple hired some of the senior executives of Masimo Corp. Masimo has alleged that an ex-employee of Masimo, Michael O’Reilly was privy to crucial information regarding the technology and he is currently working in Apple on the capacity of vice president.
Masimo and its subsidiary, Cercacor Laboratories Inc., have jointly alleged that Apple illegally acquired the technology of non-invasive monitoring using light, and this technology dramatically improved Apple Watch’s performance. They have also claimed that Apple had infringed the patents on the technology of measuring oxygen in the blood and counting the heart beats with the use of light emitters.
Masimo now wants Apple to stop the use of patented technology in its Apple Watch 4 and Apple Watch 5. It also calls for the return of all the confidential information Apple has that belongs to Masimo Corp.
However, Apple is yet to make any official statement regarding these severe allegations raised by Masimo.
Along with Masimo’s Michael O’Reilly, Apple also hired Cercacor’s former chief technology officer and a scientist, Marcelo Lamego. As per Masimo’s complaint, Lamego had complete access to the company’s key technical details and Apple applied for the patent of the above technologies once it hired the two key officials from Masimo.
The complaint reads,
Given what appeared to be a targeted effort to obtain information and expertise from Masimo and Cercacor, Masimo and Cercacor warned Apple about respecting their rights.
However, neither of the two men has been named in the lawsuit. Earlier, Apple has been named in various allegations of infringing patents and copying trade secrets. Apple was earlier dragged into controversy for allegedly removing a messaging service from its App Store to avoid competition once it copied the patented technology from the app.