February 2, 2024
An Iranian-born technology wizard has gone to battle with mighty Apple, the world’s most valuable corporation, over what the Iranian calls Apple’s theft of his breakthrough technology.
Joe Kiani’s company, Masimo, pioneered a better method for measuring blood-oxygen levels. He has spent around $100 million fighting Apple. He has a record of battling other companies over patent infringement and winning.
Kiani has vowed to fight on and said he won’t settle with Apple unless the tech giant pays for his technology and agrees to change how it interacts with smaller companies.
Apple has denied allegations that it stole Masimo’s technology and has accused Masimo’s company of copying Apple’s technology.
“Justice isn’t just blind, but very slow,” Kiani, 58, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
The US International Trade Commission in October ruled that Apple violated Masimo’s patents and ordered a ban on some Apple Watches shipped to the US, which went into effect December 26. Apple swiftly won a reprieve to resume sales.
Kiani describes himself as a close friend of President Biden, and he has contributed huge sums to Democratic causes—about $8 million since 2018—but that doesn’t seem to be helping him in this case.
Before taking on Apple, Masimo employees and friends of Kiani warned him of the risks of going forward. “People were telling me I’m crazy and I can’t go against Apple,” said Kiani. “They have unlimited resources.”
A number of smaller companies have over the years made similar allegations against Apple about taking their ideas and violating their patents, The Wall Street Journal reported in April. When these companies attempt to claim patent infringements against Apple, the tech giant responds with an aggressive legal strategy through the US patent system.
“No one is standing up to them,” Kiani said. “If I can do it, it might change Apple for the better.”
Born in Iran, Kiani moved with his family to Alabama when he was nine in order for his father to study engineering. The family brought $10,000 and lived for a time in public housing.
Kiani, who now has three children and counts himself a lover of Persian poetry and Pink Floyd, excelled in math and was placed grades ahead of his age. As a result, he was smaller than the rest of his classmates, making him a target. “I learned that you can’t walk away from bullies,” he said. “You have to punch back.”
When Kiani was 14, his parents had to move back to Iran, leaving him and his sister alone. He graduated early from high school and by 1987 had earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from San Diego State University, he told The Wall Street Journal. He founded Masimo in 1989, when he was 24, after the startup he had joined opted not to pursue his design for an improved pulse oximeter that didn’t give false alarms when patients moved.
He next took on Nellcor, the leading pulse oximeter provider. Kiani walked away from a deal with Nellcor when it wouldn’t promise to quickly introduce his technology to patients, Kiani said. Later, Nellcor announced it had technology that allowed blood oxygen to be measured while the user was in motion. In 1999, Masimo sued over patent infringement. In 2006, Nellcor settled and eventually paid nearly $800 million.
In 2009, Masimo sued Royal Philips over a patent-infringement issue and eventually settled in 2016, with Philips paying out $300 million and agreeing to incorporate Masimo’s technology into its product.
Masimo sued Apple in January 2020 over allegations that Apple stole its trade secrets. Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 6 with a pulse oximeter later that year. The case, along with other legal efforts against Apple, has cost Masimo about $100 million so far.
Apple has yet to engage in what Kiani sees as serious discussions about a settlement. He remains determined to take his war with Apple to the very end, he said, even if it means losing his company. The mounting legal bills have eaten into his company’s profits.
