Masimo Corp stock currently has a market cap of 6.21B, while Apple is 3.05T. Apple just needs over 50% of the company for controlling stake. Probably worthwhile to keep their (Apple's) the products on the market and prevent future disputes.
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Apple Pausing Sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in U.S. Due to Patent Dispute
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Yeah, but an acquisition attempt would 1) drive up the price of Masimo’s shares thus being more than $3 billion, 2) expose Apple to an industry/regulatory pressures they have no interest in (and, should Apple choose to divest Masimo while retaining patents, what value is Masimo to anyone without their war chest of patents?), and 3) prompt potential antitrust action. Apple’s not gonna just buy them because that’s not the best solution for Apple. Besides, if fighting the case ends up being cheaper for Apple than buying them out, why buy them out?
Fair points. If their patents are really that good, perhaps it would be worth it for Apple (and to prevent future disputes). No idea really, just thinking.
Patents expire, they are not invalidated (normally). But why should they be on a much more limited timeframe? It's not impossible to design around a patent claim, it's done all the time.
Honestly, and I say this as someone in finance, the stock market is just noise at this point. It’s all unmoored emotion, has been for years. Stocks are high across the board because of dovish moves from the FED, but the markets are hypersensitive to anything with even the smell of bad news.
The medical tech horizon holds vast potential for profit (and yes health benefits too) so Masimo is making a stand. They and Apple both know well what’s at stake. A real clash is taking shape.
Apple today said it will be pausing sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the U.S. later this week due to an ongoing patent dispute with medical tech company Masimo related to blood oxygen sensing.
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In a statement shared with 9to5Mac, Apple said the Series 9 and Ultra 2 will no longer be available to purchase on Apple's online store in the U.S. starting December 21 (after 12 p.m. Pacific Time), or from Apple retail stores in the U.S. after December 24. The devices will remain available to purchase in other countries.
In October, the ITC ordered a ban on some Apple Watch imports into the U.S. after finding that Apple violated Masimo's patents related to non-invasive blood oxygen sensing, also known as pulse oximetry. U.S. President Joe Biden has until December 25 to review the order, but presidential vetos of ITC import bans have historically been rare. In the meantime, Apple said it is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand.
Apple added that it "strongly disagrees" with the ITC's order and is "pursuing a range of legal and technical options" to ensure that availability of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 resumes in the U.S. as soon as possible. Apple told 9to5Mac that it plans to appeal the ITC's order with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 26 if necessary.
Apple's full statement:Since 2020, Masimo has accused Apple of poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets in order to develop the blood oxygen sensing feature available on the Apple Watch Series 6 and newer. In January, an ITC judge ruled that Apple had infringed on a Masimo patent relating to light-based technology for reading blood-oxygen levels.
In a statement today, Masimo said "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," and it believes the ITC's order should be respected.
Article Link: Apple Pausing Sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in U.S. Due to Patent Dispute
Interesting idea. But original ideas need to originate somewhere. Upgrading manufacturing is not necessarily that place.
They could re-market it as the Watch 9.5 or WatchHR or whatever, with the function disabled. Then they don't remove the feature for anyone with the Watch 9 that was imported before 12/25, where the ruling doesn't prohibit its ongoing use (put aside a patent infringement action), but remove it (and don't advertise it) for Watch 9.5 and disable function going forward.
Take a deep dive into patent trolls. It’s a wild world of suck.
I'm still trying to work out if Apple will still supply them to BestBuy, Amazon etc or will they not be allowed to be sold in the USA period?
As I understand it, they can't import them from the manufacturers in China (or any other country). Any devices already past customs can be sold.
I don't pretend to know anything about patent law. However, your summary of the current patent law situation rings true with so many areas of life right now
But the act of stopping the import, I don't believe is quite as clear as your quick summary. The lawsuit was filed in 2020 which is when the blood oxygen feature was released. The complaint from Masimo was immediate and for the (then) current model. At that time Apple had hyped the feature and made it a major selling point.
Three years later it might not be as relevant, but it was relevant when the complaint was filed. Whether or not it should or should not halt the sales of something, I don't have any opinion on. I don't know standard consequences, etc... I just wanted to comment that it was not a fair representation to conflate today's status (when the ruling is finally coming into play) with the original incident and complaint.
To me the insane part is that it took 3 years to get to this point period, regardless of who is at fault! Maybe that is some of what you are saying?
If those retail stores already have them on-hand, I don't see why they can't sell them.
So it sounds like when supplies run out in the USA no one will be able to import or sell them?
I wonder if those saying it is wrong to ban sales would be singing the same tune if it was reverse and Apple was shutting down the sales of a smaller company.
Not completely broken, the man who claimed a patent for the ‘Shopping Cart Metaphor’ for online stores was laughed out of court. If I’m remembering correctly.
They worked really hard for the patent. Invested a lot of time and resources. They have kids, family, mortgages, etc.
They aren’t trolls man. They’re you and I
I'm sure they would. And they'd probably run crying to the EU to have them dictate something about it.
This has nothing to do with the EU. Both companies are American, and both are headquartered in California.
I'm well aware that both companies are American and headquartered in California. Heck, I even work with products of both companies every day. It was a jab against people who would love to see the EU do something about it and then realize they can't throw their "mandate happy" selves at this problem. If you took that comment seriously, then that's on you 🤷♂️