If you have always been envious of your friend’s Apple Watch, here’s some news that is bound to perk you up: your friend might just be using tech that doesn’t belong to Apple at all. In a shocking development, an American company has sued Apple for stealing its supposedly secret technology for use in the popular Watch.
Masimo, and American manufacturing company that works on non-invasive patient monitoring technology, has teamed up with subsidiary company Cercacor Laboratories and filed a lawsuit against the iPhone manufacturer for stealing their trademark technology.
It appears that the California tech giant originally approached Masimo to enter a business partnership with it, but later changed its mind and ended up hiring its employees, including current Vice President of Apple’s health tech department Michael O’Reilly.
In the lawsuit, Masimo and Cercacor claim that Apple has used their technology to resolve performance issues in the Apple Watch. Moreover, the consumer electronics giant has been accused of infringing upon ten different patents, with the Apple Watch 4 and Apple Watch 5 highlighted as the main devices responsible for patent infringement.
While these accusations are shocking in nature and could have potentially significant consequences for all parties involved, it is worth noting that they are no more than accusations at this stage. Masimo and Cercacor have made it clear that they want to prevent Apple from using their technology any further, but there has been no report on the losses they have incurred or additional action that they wish to take.
Moreover, Apple has been quiet so far and has yet to release an official statement on the matter. The story can end up either way, but this will surely blemish the Apple Watch’s reputation as a purely original work of aesthetic quality.
Cycle 14 has landed at Plan9 HQ