An email sent by a scientist to Apple CEO Tim Cook in 2013 may have sparked a legal battle between the tech giant and Masimo, leading to the Apple Watch being banned.
The tech giant is banned from selling all smartwatches with added blood oxygen sensors in 2020 because they infringe Masimo's patents.
But the disaster may have been started by a former employee of Cercacor Laboratories, Masimo's sister company.
Marcelo Lamego emailed Cook 10 years ago He promises to make Apple “the No. 1 brand in the medical, fitness and wellness market” with his knowledge of medical devices.
Masimo's lawyers claimed that Lamego lacked prior knowledge of such technologies and used Masimo's sensors to develop those in the Apple Watch Series 6.
Marcello Lamego was hired by Massimo in 2003 as a research scientist and became Ceracor's CTO about three years later. He emailed Tim Cook in 2013, claiming he could develop the technology to move Apple to number one in the health and wellness market.
The blood oxygen feature is at the center of a legal dispute involving Apple and California-based biotech company Masimo, which says Apple ripped off its employees and stole intellectual property rights for use in its own devices.
DailyMail.com has contacted Apple and Masimo.
Email, which you posted BloombergPosted October 2, 2013 at 12:54 AM.
“I have developed many medical devices in the last 10 years, and I am sure I can add great value to the Apple team if I have the opportunity to become part of it in a senior technical executive position without conflicting with a large IP that I developed for Masimo and Cercacor during the same period.” .
Lamego was appointed by Massimo in 2003 as a research scientist and became Ceracaor's technical director about three years later.
Massimo's lawyers claimed he focused on neural interfaces and not medical devices.
Cercacor specializes in medical equipment research and development and was founded by Masimo CEO Joe Kiani, who has spent at least $60 million fighting Apple in court.
Marcelo Lamego emailed Cook 10 years ago, promising to make Apple “the No. 1 brand in the medical, fitness and wellness market” thanks to his knowledge of medical devices.
The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 have been pulled from shelves and the Apple Store due to patent infringement claims
Apple reportedly offered Lamego a position at the company in 2013 when the tech giant met with Masimo for a potential acquisition that never matured.
Lamego declined the offer but reconsidered it after he was passed over as Masimo's chief technology officer, lawyers for the medical company say.
Lamego was hired by Apple in 2014, and pursued on Apple's behalf numerous patent applications on technologies in which he was closely involved with plaintiffs Cercacor and Masimo, the lawsuit alleges.
The scientist was also named as an inventor in an August 2014 patent titled “Reflective Surface Treatments for Optical Sensors,” along with several other inventions.
“Lamego had unfettered access to Plaintiffs' highly confidential technical information. He was trained and mentored at Masimo by the most skilled engineers and scientists and taught about the keys to effective non-invasive monitoring, something he had not been involved in before Masimo,” the lawsuit alleges. .
“He was also exposed to classified secrets related to portable medical products, including key technology and advanced plans for future products.”
Lamego's LinkedIn profile shows his work history, starting with Masimo in 2003 and ending with Apple in 2014. He then started True Wearables
Masimo has filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming that the tech giant uses blood oxygen sensors in its smartwatches.
Lamego left Apple just seven months after his appointment.
Former Apple CEO Steve Hotelling told Bloomberg that Lamego “didn't fit in at the company” and “caught up with managers, demanded multi-million dollar budgets, and wanted the ability to hire his own engineers without approval.”
Lamego was later launched His startup Oxxiom, which has developed devices for continuous monitoring of blood oxygen levels.
Masimo filed a lawsuit against Oxxiom in 2022, which it discontinued The company is unable to sell the product due to breach of contract.
Lamego, including his company True Wearables, was prohibited from “selling Oxxiom in its current form and “further benefiting from any confidential information from Masimo,” the lawsuit filed in California said.
Masimo sued Apple in federal court in 2020 and again in 2021 after the release of the Apple Watch Series 6, the first model to have the blood oxygen feature.
The International Trade Commission (ITC), responsible for cracking down on unfair trade practices, issued the landmark ban.
In October, the International Trade Commission announced its ruling, finding that the devices infringed two patents owned by California-based biotechnology company Masimo.
The ban went into effect on December 24, leaving the final decision in the hands of the White House, which could have vetoed the ruling.
But President Joe Biden chose not to intervene.
On Tuesday, Apple filed an emergency request with the US Court of Appeals to temporarily halt the ban.
The company asked the court to halt the ban until a US Customs decision scheduled for January 12 on whether the redesigned Apple Watch avoids Masimo's patents.
If the attempt fails, Apple will have to wait until 2028 to use the blood oxygen feature, which would mark the end of the patent term.
The ban does not affect the Apple Watch SE, a less expensive model, which will continue to be sold and previously sold watches will not be affected by the ban.
(tags for translation) Daily Mail