Masimo CEO Joe Kiani may have waged and won a patent dispute against Apple over its blood oxygen sensor, he has stepped down after losing a battle with hedge fund Politan Capital Management.
Reuters reports Kiani has stepped down from his CEO position after being removed from Masimo’s board by shareholders. The move came after a proxy battle with Politan, which has a 9% stake in Masimo.
The battle began after a $1 billion acquisition of Sound United, which turned Politan to push Kiani out.
The company named veteran healthcare executive, Michelle Brennan, as interim chief. Brennan was nominated by Politan for Masimo’s board last year, along with the hedge fund’s founder Quentin Koffey. Both were subsequently elected by shareholders.
Kiani had previously said he’d quit as CEO and sell his shares if investors replaced him with a Politan nominee.
Kiani’s stepping down reportedly has nothing to do with the legal battle he waged with Apple over patents connected to its Apple Watch’s blood oxygen sensors.
Masimo filed a lawsuit against Apple back in 2020, accusing the Apple Watch maker of theft of trade secrets and improper use of Masimo health monitoring inventions in the popular wearable device.
The company, and its spinoff, Cercacor Laboratories Inc., which designs pulse oximetry devices, claimed Apple stole secret information from the company by pretending to have a working relationship with Masimo, then poaching Masimo employees. The company said the Apple Watch infringes on 10 Masimo patents.
Among those patents, were those covering ways to measure oxygen levels in blood, and heart rate using light emitters and detectors. The companies seeked to block any further use of their patented inventions in the Apple Watch, the return of confidential information and unspecified damages.
The Apple Watch was temporarily banned from sale until Apple turned off the sensor via software. Appeals are currently underway, and with Kiani’s departure, Apple may have a better chance at settling the lawsuit, although Kiani had previously said he’d happily accept a settlement if Apple bothered to make a call.
Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly working on a software fix for the blood oxygen measuring feature of the Watch that will not use Masimo’s technology.