From news from the United States Trade Commission or ITC, there is a ban on importing Apple Watch models for sale in the United States. This ban comes after medical device developer, Masimo, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. However, there are additional reports suggesting the origins of this case.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has previously disclosed important information, states that the key figure in this lawsuit is Marcelo Lamego, a Brazilian engineer with a PhD from Stanford. Lamego has been working at Masimo as a scientific researcher since 2003 and was promoted to the position of CEO of Cercacor, a new subsidiary of Masimo, in 2014. He left Masimo and joined Apple, which may seem like a normal occurrence.
However, documents in the lawsuit provide background information, stating that Apple was initially interested in collaborating with Lamego in early 2013. At that time, Apple and Masimo’s executives were negotiating a partnership to develop new products. Lamego initially rejected Apple’s offer but later changed his mind and emailed Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, requesting a job at the company. He wanted a different position at Masimo but did not receive the desired outcome.
According to Lamego’s email, he worked on medical device development at Masimo for 10 years and believed that he could bring value to Apple. He had faith that Apple could develop new technologies that would make it the number one brand in the fitness and healthcare market.
Despite Apple’s ongoing development of the Apple Watch, Apple and Masimo were unable to reach a collaboration agreement to develop new technologies. This occurred while Lamego was responsible for overseeing the project. The document further reveals that when Lamego joined Apple, approximately 20 employees from Masimo also followed. However, Lamego only worked for Apple for 7 months. Senior executives at Apple explained that his work methods did not align with the company’s culture.
Masimo’s attorney pointed out that Apple Watch was launched in September 2014, initially only capable of measuring heart rate. The feature at the center of the lawsuit, the sensor measuring blood oxygen level, was introduced in the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. Masimo decided to file the lawsuit because during the same period, Lamego launched a startup called Oxxiom, which sold blood oxygen level measuring devices. Masimo successfully sued and had Oxxiom banned. Therefore, the Apple Watch case is seen as similar.
The report also states that Masimo initially sought $3 billion in damages from Apple, but negotiations were unsuccessful. This led the company to decide to file a ban on importing Apple products, which has resulted in the current situation. Meanwhile, Apple has reported that they are seeking ways to resolve this issue.
TL;DR: The United States Trade Commission has banned the import of certain Apple Watch models following a patent infringement lawsuit filed by medical device developer Masimo against Apple. The key figure in the lawsuit is Marcelo Lamego, a Brazilian engineer who previously worked at Masimo and then joined Apple. This case originated from failed collaboration negotiations and the launch of similar blood oxygen level measuring devices by both Apple and Masimo. Masimo initially sought a $3 billion settlement, but negotiations did not reach a resolution. As a result, Masimo chose to file an import ban, leading to the current situation. Apple is actively looking for ways to address this issue.
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