How Apple hiring Stanford PhD Marcelo Lamego, who was CTO of Masimo sister Cercacor, in 2013 to add Watch health features sparked a fight that led to the US ban

Apple's hiring of a key engineer 10 years ago helped spark a fight that led its watch to be banned from the US.

Bloomberg 2023-12-27 Mark Gurman

Context & Ripple Effects

The dispute had already escalated from Masimo’s 2020 allegations of patent infringement and misappropriated monitoring technology into an import-ban fight. This account connects that outcome to Apple’s earlier recruitment of Cercacor’s former CTO, making talent movement central to the conflict’s origin.

By late 2023, Apple was reportedly pursuing a software-based path around the blood-oxygen dispute, while Masimo maintained that a hardware change was necessary. The case therefore sits at the intersection of hiring, product design, and trade-remedy enforcement.

First-order effects

Apple’s hiring of Marcelo Lamego became a focal point in Masimo and Cercacor’s dispute, tying a health-feature recruitment decision to the legal battle over Apple Watch monitoring technology.
The resulting US ban directly constrains Apple’s ability to sell affected Watch products, while giving Masimo leverage in its patent dispute.

Second-order effects

Apple’s reported software workaround puts feature availability and product differentiation at stake; Masimo’s position that hardware must change raises the cost and complexity of any remedy.
Competitors adding health-monitoring capabilities have a clearer incentive to scrutinize both incoming technical hires and the intellectual-property provenance of their product features.

Third-order effects

If this pattern persists, medical-sensor specialists can use patents and import remedies to influence how consumer-electronics companies commercialize health features, not merely to seek damages after launch.
The case points to a more formalized transition from talent competition to IP litigation in hardware, where recruitment diligence and product-design records become strategic assets.

The trend: Consumer-device makers’ push into health features is increasing the chance that specialized talent hires evolve into high-stakes patent and import disputes.

Discussion

@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
NEW: The Late-Night Email to Tim Cook That Set the Apple Watch Saga in Motion. Apple's hiring of a key engineer 10 years ago helped spark a fight that led its watch to be banned from the US. Inside the legal battle: https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on threads
President Biden declined to intervene and so Apple is now banned from selling its latest Apple Watches in the US due to a patent dispute with Masimo over blood oxygen sensing technology. This issues goes way back to 2013 when Apple originally met with Masimo to discuss their pul…
@edzollars Edward Zollars on threads
Which is why I believe they want the Court of Appeals to rule in their favor. Even if they just get an invalidation of the patent, that might discourage those who want to file similar claims. But, absent the patent being invalidated, this seems like a horrendously bad facts cas…
@wickedplayer494 @wickedplayer494 on threads
The real winner in this Apple Watch Series 9/Ultra 2 patent debacle is Canada. All those watches that Apple can't sell in the US, they probably instructed their stores to box them up and send them to the nearest Apple Store up north to sell here instead.
@edzollars Edward Zollars on threads
They can, which makes the fact that they haven't pursued that option even more interesting at this point. My guess would be that they would expect exposure for other similar situations where they might have acted similarly if they were to pay up on this one.
@florian4gamers Florian Mueller on x
That whole Apple Watch ban story is probably going to be seen as “much ado about nothing” when all is said and done. Been watching countless Apple patent cases for almost 14 years. They often take extreme positions, but in some ways they're reliable. Guess they have a workaround
@chancehmiller Chance Miller on x
Apple spokesperson's statement to 9to5Mac on the Biden administration's decision not to veto the ITC's Apple Watch ban: [Image]
@patrickmoorhead Patrick Moorhead on x
Companies can't steal other company's IP, even if you're Apple and can afford to tie up in court for a decade. Apple “wins” most cases historically by the other company giving up or by winning in court, but bad behavior catches up eventually with Apple as it did with Massimo....
@briantycangco Brian Tycangco on x
Coincidentally Xiaomi also has a smart watch with a BP monitoring function called Watch H1 selling for $260. And I plan to buy one while I'm in town. $XIACF

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