Apple Poached Employees and Used Underhanded Tactics to Steal Trade Secrets, Alleges Masimo

Apple's legal battle with pulse oximetry company Masimo has been taking place over the course of the last two weeks, but we've heard little about it. The judge overseeing the case sealed some parts of the trial, but legal affairs journalist Meghan Cuniff, who has been following the dispute, today shared some details on what the two sides are arguing over in court.

apple watch series 8 red
For a refresher, Masimo has accused Apple of poaching employees and stealing trade secrets for the Apple Watch. Masimo believes that Apple developed five pulse oximetry patents using trade information stolen from Masimo. Masimo wants co-ownership of the patents and a payout of $3.1 billion. It is worth noting that Masimo previously targeted Apple with patent infringement claims, but the United States Patent and Trademark Office invalidated all but two of the patents, which is when Masimo turned to theft of trade secrets.

Apple hired Masimo Chief Medical Officer Michael O'Reilly in July 2013 and Cercacor Chief Technical Officer Marcelo Lamego in early 2014 (Cercacor is a Masimo spinoff company) to work on the Apple Watch. Masimo claims that Apple was deliberately stealing employees and that Lamego in particular shared secret Masimo information with Apple, while Apple claims that the hiring of the two had nothing to do with their prior experience at Masimo and was based on their talent. Apple maintains that the former Masimo employees did not divulge Masimo's intellectual property rights when they worked on the Apple Watch, despite Masimo's accusations.

Lamego was only at Apple for six months, but he filed for 12 patents in that time and was named as an inventor on several future Apple patents. He worked on the same kind of sensor that he had worked on at Masimo, which Masimo has taken issue with. Lamego was hired at the recommendation of O'Reilly, who at the time warned Apple that "most of his knowledge" would be "considered confidential information of Cercacor or Masimo." Apple, meanwhile, pointed to an email Lamego sent to Apple CEO Tim Cook where he said that he could "add significant value" to Apple without relying on the work he did for Masimo. Hiring emails suggest that Apple was interested in his "specialized experience" needed for Apple Watch sensors.

Lamego claims that when he worked on the Apple Watch's heart rate detection algorithm, he had to "exercise extra care to avoid IP conflict." Lamego said that his work for Apple was stunted after Masimo sent a threatening letter not long after his hiring, which caused Apple to pull back on the resources provided to him. He ultimately left, but Masimo maintains that what he shared with Apple during that time was instrumental to the development of the Apple Watch. The patents that were issued to Apple in 2019 were "on [Masimo's] stuff," according to Masimo CEO Joe Kiani.

Prior to when Lamego worked at the company, Apple's internal emails reflected trouble with the development on the Apple Watch. "Frankly, I think this is a mess," wrote now-retired Apple executive Bob Mansfield about early work on the Apple Watch sensor, adding that the sensor would "fail" on its "current path." Apple vice president of corporate development Adrian Perica also expressed concerns about the device, writing that the Apple Watch was "already way behind" other wearables on the market.

Masimo presented emails between Mansfield and Perica, who discussed acquiring Masimo during the time period when the Apple Watch was in development. Apple decided against it because the company's large size isn't Apple's "style" and wouldn't "accelerate [Apple's] roadmaps and products," according to Perica. Perica at one point referred to extending an "olive branch" to Masimo by offering tickets to an Apple event, which Masimo lawyers cited as evidence that Apple knew it had wronged Masimo in some way.

Apple claims that Masimo is targeting it with the lawsuit because Masimo saw the success of the Apple Watch and decided to make its own smart watch. Masimo has largely been focused on large medical devices created for hospitals rather than wearables. In a trial brief, Apple said that what Masimo claims are "trade secrets" are ideas "long known and used by multiple companies."

The eight-person jury hearing the case is expected to begin deliberations as soon as next week as Apple and Masimo finish their legal arguments. The U.S. International Trade Commission has already ruled that Apple infringed on Masimo patents with the Apple Watch, a ruling that Apple is fighting.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple's iPhone Driver's License Feature Now Available in 11 U.S. States

Tuesday September 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Apple recently revealed that the feature would soon be available in North Dakota, and starting today, the feature has officially gone...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
fcc vision pro leak

FCC Accidentally Leaks Apple's Next Vision Pro

Tuesday September 30, 2025 3:48 pm PDT by
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has seemingly confirmed Apple's work on an updated version of the Vision Pro headset. One of several documents the FCC shared today references an Apple-designed "Head Mounted Device" with a model number of A3416. An included image confirms the device is a Vision Pro. The FCC's uploads are transmission tests, SAR test reports, and...
macbook pro prime day 2025

FCC Leaks Upcoming MacBook Pro and More

Tuesday September 30, 2025 1:58 pm PDT by
The United States Federal Communications Commission has confirmed Apple's work on a new version of the MacBook Pro and several other products, leaking details on the devices ahead of launch. The FCC published documents that reference model numbers that do not correspond with existing devices. A3434, for example, references an unreleased MacBook Pro, while other numbers are likely for...
Apple 2025 Thumb 1

Apple's 2025 Product Roadmap: What's Still Coming

Wednesday October 1, 2025 3:56 pm PDT by
Apple's two big yearly events, WWDC and the iPhone launch, are done and over with, but there are still some new products that we're expecting to see before the end of the year. Apple TV The Apple TV hasn't been updated since 2022, so it's due for a refresh. It doesn't look like Apple is going to change the design of its set-top box, but we can expect a faster chip Apple code suggests...
maxresdefault

New iPad Pro With M5 Chip Leaked in Unboxing Video

Tuesday September 30, 2025 8:39 am PDT by
An apparent unboxing video for an unannounced iPad Pro with the M5 chip was uploaded to YouTube today by Russian channel Wylsacom. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip before it was announced by Apple last year, so this is likely a legitimate leak. Based on the box shown in the video, this appears to be a 13-inch iPad Pro with an M5 chip, 256GB of...
iOS 26 Everything New Feature

26 Hidden iOS 26 Tricks to Change How You Use Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 9:16 am PDT by
Apple released iOS 26 in mid-September, bringing a range of new features and changes to iPhones across the globe. But not all of the included improvements have been showcased with Apple's typical fanfare, and many are likely to have been overlooked. Below, we've highlighted 26 lesser known additions and enhancements that could potentially change how you use your iPhone on a daily basis. Got...

Top Rated Comments

JitteryJimmy Avatar
32 months ago
"Poaching" is a sad term that implies that a hiring company did something wrong or distasteful. "Poaching" is just the hiring an employee. It is not illegal or immoral to hire employees from a competitor or from anywhere else. Changing jobs is how workers can make more money.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
32 months ago
I hate it when companies try to own their employees and think of them as being "poached" which seriously limits our ability to go elsewhere and further advance our careers. We are not pawns, we are not toys that you collect.

My company tried to get me to sign an NDA after I had worked there a while. It included language that I couldn't leave to work for competitors or otherwise companies that worked with our clients. I told them no, lol. Fortunately I'm in a position to have leverage and seniority, unlike most workers. We need a workers bill of rights to make this garbage illegal.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roar08 Avatar
32 months ago
Oh no, someone hired your employees away. The *general* corollary of this of course is the obvious: you failed to retain your employees. And of course, now comes the WE MAD.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
frenchcamp49er Avatar
32 months ago
Companies "poach" employees all the time. How many Apple employees have been hired by other companies.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baritone_Guy Avatar
32 months ago
It’s amazing just how much he was able to do from scratch in 6 months.

/s
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Analog Kid Avatar
32 months ago
This will be interesting to watch. As written here it feels like this person carried out Masimos IP and patented it for Apple but there are two obvious questions: did he carry out physical documents or just the understanding of how to do something, and if it was precious and patentable why didn't Masimo do that?

Trade secrets are generally things that aren't patentable or that you wouldn't want to disclose though a patent because it would teach your competition. Teaching the competition would be bad if the patent is easily circumvented. If it's easily circumvented then the patent isn't anything to get upset about. If Masimo has already done what Apple has patented then it's prior art and the patent is invalid.

Another possibility is that this employee thought their ideas were worth pursuing, Masimo didn't, Apple did, Apple made bank on those ideas, now Masimo is regretting their decision to not move forward with it. Apple patents stuff all the time they don't intend to pursue though, so that would suggest Masimo saw so little value in the ideas that they didn't want to fund the patents. If they held that little value for Masimo, then are they really trade secrets?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)