Apple in danger of blocking Apple Watch
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Apple witnesses testify in $3.1 billion patent lawsuit alleging industry secrets were stolen to create the Apple Watch.
The International Trade Commission backed the medical firm Masimo, which filed a lawsuit against Apple in connection with allegations of patent infringement. A new case, separate from the ITC case, has been filed in Masimo US District Court alleging that Apple used trade secrets to develop the Apple Watch.
Not much is known about the trial, but a legal journalist named Megan Caniff wrote about some key points. The general view of the case is simple — Apple poached two senior executives who allegedly provided trade secrets to build health sensors on the Apple Watch.
The full report details the skirmish between key Apple witnesses and Masimo's lawyers. The employees in question, Marcelo Lamego and Michael O'Reilly, both testified that they never used Masimo's intellectual property in their work at Apple.
Details gleaned from internal documents and emails revealed that Apple was looking to work with Masimo and its sister lab, Cercacor Laboratories, due to their background and expertise in medical technology development. It was an endeavor known as Project Everest at Apple, and it was happening even as Apple hired two of its employees in key roles.
In July 2013, Michael O'Reilly joined Apple as the new Chief Medical Officer, a former Chief Medical Officer at Masimo. Concerns were raised about his hiring during a conversation with Mashimo — calling the situation “bad karma”.
However, Apple then hired Ceracor CTO Marcelo Lamego to join the Apple Watch team. Another possible conflict with the Everest project.
“We thought about the need to tie these things together. Ultimately, we decided, “No, people can interview and change jobs as they wish,” said Steve Hotelling, a 21-year-old Apple employee. employee and current vice president of hardware technology. “He is a qualified candidate, so we must conduct an interview regardless of the Everest project.
Lamego told Tim Cook in an email that he could make a significant contribution without conflicting with the intellectual property he developed with Masimo. This was used as part of the argument that Apple takes privacy seriously.
He worked at Apple for only six months, but during that time he filed twelve patent applications — five of which are involved in the process. Lamego quit because Masimo sent a threatening letter to Tim Cook, which negatively affected his work.
Despite pressure from Masimo's lawyers, Apple's witnesses denied all accusations and evidence. Apple continues to confirm that these people were hired for their expertise in their field, and not for corporate secrets they had access to.
The Public Trial Brief details the Apple case, with one section concluding Apple's position on the matter.
Apple looks forward to demonstrating in court that none of Plaintiffs' confidential information has ever been used in the design, development, or marketing of the Apple Watch, and that most of what Plaintiffs refer to as “trade secrets” is these are ideas that have long been known and used by several companies.
The report's coverage ended on Monday, so details of Tuesday's hearing were not included.
The case will continue for a week, and jury deliberations will begin next week. Apple risks being banned from Apple Watch Series 6 and later if Masimo wins.
