A scientist’s email to Apple CEO Tim Cook in 2013 may have triggered the legal battle between the tech giant and Masimo, leading to the Apple Watch ban.
The tech giant is prohibited from selling all smartwatches featuring the blood oxygen sensors added in 2020 because it infringes on Masimo’s patents.
But the debacle may have been started by a former employee of Masimo’s sister company, Cercacor Laboratories.
Marcelo Lamego emailed Cook 10 years ago promising to make Apple ‘the No. 1 brand in the medical, fitness and wellness market’ with his knowledge of medical devices.
Masimo’s lawyers claimed Lamego lacked prior knowledge of such technologies and used Masimo’s sensors to develop those in the Apple Watch Series 6.
Marcelo Lamego was hired by Masimo in 2003 as a research scientist and became the CTO for Ceracaor about three years later. He emailed Tim Cook in 2013, claiming he could develop technology to take Apple to the top spot in the wellness market
The blood oxygen feature is the focus of a legal dispute involving Apple and California-based biotech company Masimo, which says Apple poached its staff and stole IP to use in its own devices.
DailyMail.com has contacted Apple and Masimo.
The email, published by Bloomberg, was sent on October 2, 2013 at 12:54 am.
‘I have developed several medical devices in the last 10 years, and I am positively sure I could add significant value to the Apple team if I [were] given the chance of becoming part of it in a senior technical executive position without conflicting with the large IP I have developed for Masimo and Cercacor during the same period,’ the email reads.
Lamego was hired by Masimo in 2003 as a research scientist and became the CTO for Ceracaor about three years later.
Masimo’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’ with his knowledge of medical devices
Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 were pulled from the shelves and the Apple Store due to patent infringement claims
Apple is said to have offered Lamego a position at the company in 2013 when the tech giant met with Masimo for a possible acquisition that never matured.
Lamego declined the offer but reconsidered after being passed over as the CTO of Masimo, lawyers for the medical company argue.
Lamego was hired by Apple in 2014, and he ‘pursued on behalf of Apple numerous patent applications on technologies he was intimately involved in at Plaintiffs Cercacor and Masimo,’ the lawsuit claims.
The scientist is also named as an inventor on an August 2014 patent titled ‘Reflective Surface Treatments for Optical Sensors,’ along with several others.
‘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 was taught about the keys to effective non-invasive monitoring, something he was not involved in prior to Masimo,’ the lawsuit claims.
‘He was also exposed to guarded secrets regarding mobile medical products, including key technology and advance 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 sued Apple, claiming the tech giant used its blood oxygen sensors in its smartwatches
Lamego left Apple just seven months after being hired.
Former Apple executive Steve Hotelling told Bloomberg that Lamego ‘didn’t fit in at the company’ and ‘clashed with managers, demanded multimillion-dollar budgets and wanted the ability to hire his engineers without approval.’
Lamego later launched his startup, Oxxiom, which developed devices for continuously monitoring blood oxygen levels.
Masimo sued Oxxiom in 2022, stopping the company from selling the product due to a breach of contract.
Lamego, including his now True Wearables company, has been barred from ‘selling the Oxxiom in its current form and ‘making further use of any Masimo ‘confidential information,” the lawsuit filed in California reads.
Masimo sued Apple in federal court in 2020 and again in 2021 after the Apple Watch Series 6 release, the first model to have the blood oxygen feature.
The International Trade Commission (ITC), which is responsible for clamping down on unfair trade practices, issued the landmark ban.
In October, the ITC announced its ruling, finding that the devices infringed on two patents owned by biotech company Masimo, based in California.
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.
However, President Joe Biden chose not to intervene.
On Tuesday, Apple filed an emergency motion with the US Appeals Court to pause the ban.
The company has asked the court to halt the ban until a US Customs decision due on January 12 about whether Apple’s redesigned watches avoid Masimo patents.
If the attempt fails, Apple will have to wait until 2028 to use the blood oxygen feature – the end of the patent hold.
The ban does not affect Apple Watch SE, a less expensive model, which will continue to be sold and previously sold watches will not be impacted by the ban.
