The Masimo medical group sues Apple for theft of trade secrets and infringement of ten patents.
If the Californian firm has particularly distinguished itself on the connected watch market thanks in particular to its electrocardiogram functionality, this success would also earn it the subject of several complaints for theft of technologies. Apple was recently sued by a doctor for violating one of its patents on a system that detects irregular heartbeats. At the start of the year, the firm must face a second complaint concerning its Apple Watches, report our colleagues from Bloomberg.
The Masimo medical group, specializing in the development and design of non-invasive patient monitoring technologies, including sensors, accuses Apple of having stolen some of its trade secrets, as well as having infringed ten of its patents. The Cupertino company is said to have relied on the technologies developed by Masimo to develop its ECG sensor for the Apple Watch.
The complainant claims that the Californian firm had access to secret information obtained “under cover of an employment relationship”. Apple has, it seems, poached several Masimo employees to strengthen its health department.
Facts which would have taken place after Cupertino contacted the medial group in 2013 to discuss a possible collaboration. Apple would have indicated wanting to “better understand Masimo’s technology to potentially integrate this technology into its products”. But the medical group would have finally refused to collaborate with Apple. At the same time, Apple is said to have started hiring Masimo employees. For the medical group, it was “a targeted effort to obtain information and expertise”.
Masimo accuses Apple of offering extravagant salaries to employees of the medical group to poach them. The Californian firm could therefore have accessed Masimo’s knowledge and expertise and applied it to its Apple Watches. The medical group wants Apple to stop using its patents, the restitution of stolen data, as well as damages.
