Joe Kiani, CEO of Masimo, a medical technology company that accused Apple of ‘infringing’ its patents, has slammed the tech giant, saying that the iPhone and Watch maker has been ‘caught with their hands in a cookie jar.’
Kiani, who spoke to the Business Insider on Tuesday, also stated that the infringement was not ‘accidental.’
“…this is a deliberate taking of our intellectual property. I am glad the world can now see we are the true inventors and creators of these technologies,” he further said, and claimed Apple hired ‘more than 20 engineers’ from Masimo.
On whether he was open to a settlement with the Tim Cook-helmed firm or not, Kiani stressed that he was ready to settle the matter, adding, however, that Apple was ‘yet to come to the table.’
“It takes two to tango,” the Masimo CEO remarked.
What is the issue?
On Masimo’s appeal, the International Trade Commission (ITC) probed and found Apple ‘guilty’ of infringement.
“After a thorough multi-year legal investigation, the ITC found that Apple infringed certain of Masimo’s patented innovations for measuring blood oxygen. The decision to exclude certain foreign-made models of the Apple Watch demonstrates that even the world’s most powerful company must abide by the law,” an ITC statement to the Business Insider read.
Accordingly, Apple has halted the US sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches – the models on which the ‘infringed’ technology was used.
However, expressing its disagreement with the ruling, it told the New York-based business and financial news website: “We strongly disagree with the order and are pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers. Should the order stand, we will continue to take all measures to return Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 to customers in the US as soon as possible.”
Can the ban be reversed?
The ITC decision is under review by US President Joe Biden until December 25. However, a presidential administration has not vetoed an ITC ruling since 2013, the Barack Obama’s administration overturned an import ban on Apple’s iPhones and iPads from a patent dispute with Samsung.