Apple Inc Vs Masimo Corporation- What’s the hype?
Big News
As I was sipping my coffee to get rid of the hangover from the New Year Eve’s party, and waking up to a new day, a new month and a whole new year, the first thing that crossed my mind was ,” Oh my Gosh, Work Tomorrow”.
While I had a relaxing holiday, similar to many of you, with family and had loads of fun and happiness and ended the year hoping for another fantastic year, I had to accept that 2023, besides it’s usual ups and downs, saw me grow as a professional and move into a field of work of my choice ( Technical Innovation) with an expected promotion. Also the the tech world, ended the year with a big news of Masimo Corp, the ‘Small guy’, defeating Apple Inc, the giant, many people thought the bible story of David Vs Goliath has come true again, but I had my own doubts. Is it a real defeat for the Tech Giant or is it a small set back? I am trying to investigate in around 1000 words.
Check:
Is it a big win as printed as is it a loophole exploitation ?
Who is Massimo?
Masimo corporation is a global medical technology manufacturer who is well known for their non invasive innovative technological devices. The devices include portable, handheld, wearables medical devices that may detect a few life threatening conditions such heart attacks, strokes etc., which can be easily avoided with early detection. The best part of it is that this detection can be done with a simple procedure such as inserting a non invasive external sensor to the patient’s finger and pressing a button. This can help the first responder to check the oxygen saturation levels, methemogloblin, or carbon monoxide levels along with a pulse rate in seconds.
Masimo corporation is headquartered at Irvine , California , USA and their website is www.masimo.com. Masimo is a publicly traded company in NASDAQ, traded as MASI founded by Joe Kaini, in 1989, as a garage startup, similar to many Californian big tech companies. The company employs around 8,000 people, with a market cap of 6.194 Billion US dollars, with their stock price ending at $117.21 on Friday, 29th Dec 2023, at the closing bell.
Inference:
Masimo is not a small guy of the tech world, it is an established billion dollar company with a well known track record and good products which has been traded and bought for many years.
What is the legal battle about?
As AI technologies are becoming increasingly prevalent, there has been a variety of questions about the data used to train these AI models, which are practically owned by fortune five hundred companies, who are tech leaders in the world. The most important being the ‘Patent infringement or copyright concerns’.
Unfortunately, the legal battle between Masimo and Apple does not involve AI, but definitely involves patent infringement. Masimo Corporation has been fighting over their violation of ten patent rights for their SET Pulse Oximetry Technology, which is being used in Apple Watches, the wearable device from Apple Inc. The applications of Masimo’s light-based technology to measure oxygen saturation levels include reducing blindness in neonatal ICU patients and monitoring post-surgical patients on opioids. It also offered remote patient monitoring for COVID-19.
The Irvine based company has also blamed the Tech Giant, for poaching their human talents, including their Chief Technical Officer. The case was filed in 2020, over the stolen tech which was incorporated in Apple Watch series 6.
In May 2023, the federal court case between the two ended up in a mistrial as the 12-member jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. But five months later, in Oct 2023, a ruling from US ITC (International Trade Commission) ordered a limited ban on Apple watches as it found that Apple violated US laws by incorporating this patented technology into their products.
After the ITC ban, there followed a sixty-day presidential review, which ended on Dec 25th, 2023. Unlike President Obama in 2013, President Biden declined to veto the ITC ban, as told in the words of Joe Kiani,
“If Apple had manufactured their watches in the United States, instead of China, I would have lost. There is something between Apple and China.”
Inference:
Apple has violated the patent rights, but I do not think that it’s a real win for Masimo, a six-billion-dollar company, wrongly called the ‘Small Guy’.
Why is it not a real win?
Truth be told, Masimo’s win is neither an underdog fantasy, nor a religious moral of David Vs Goliath, for the following three reasons.
- The import ban happened besides the mistrial in may 2023, is due to a clause named 337 investigations, which is specific for those products which are not manufactured inside those countries, they are being sold. To make it clear, let me explain -The ITC is a federal agency that investigates unfair trade practices, such as patent, trademark, and copyright infringement. Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 states that it is illegal to infringe on a U.S. patent, copyright, registered trademark, or mask work in import trade. So it is not a real loss to Apple, it is a set back, that’s all.
- Did it do any good to the people of the United States, where the legal battle is fought? I thought that this might lead Apple Inc to, seriously consider, move their manufacturing processes from abroad to the United States. But instead, Apple with their law team backed by their 3 Trillion dollars Market Capital, asked the court to pause the ban until U.S. Customs and Border Protection determines if the Apple Watches really infringed the Masimo patents in question. The decision from the court is due on Jan. 12.
- Besides Masimo, portrayed by the US Media as the ‘Small Guy’, who took down the ‘Tech Giant’, Apple Inc, which made it feel like it is a win to the truth and goodness, especially as the deadline was on Dec 25th, when the Christmas spirit of love, joy and sharing comes alive. Alas it is not the whole truth, as neither of the two companies is a non — profit organization. One is worth a few billion US dollars and other is worth a few trillion US dollars. Both the organizations focus and make profit by selling life- saving equipment and have been doing the same for several decades.
Inference:
Do not believe in what is being told, shown and or felt (Pun intended as wearables are famous for their feel, felt as vibrations). Truth comes to the surface when a deep thorough investigation is made.
