Strategy in TECH...
In more late-breaking news from the Masimo v. Apple trade secrets trial, we learn that U.S. District Judge James V. Selna has cut Masimo’s trade secrets claims in half, down from twelve initial claims to now six viable claims. Based on the expert estimated value of the claims cut, that takes this case from one valued at $3.1 billion in damages to one now valued at $1.8 billion.
In a surprising and rather dramatic late-trial incident, an Apple witness violated a pre-trial order from U.S. District Judge James V. Selna meant to limit the amount of evidence to be presented, and – upon a motion from Masimo – he reversed that order, allowing Masimo to reveal more evidence potentially detrimental to Apple. Specifically, jurors learned that Apple had not just hired two Masimo executives as they had been told, but rather, the tech giant had hired as many as five more (for a total of seven) employees away from Masimo.
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) announced today that its Diamond Surround Sound System is being featured in BMW’s latest BMW XM luxury hybrid SUV. First featured in the top-of-the-line BMW 7 series, the company says its engineers worked side-by-side with BMW engineers from the very start of the XM development to ensure that its Diamond Surround Sound System was fully optimized for the luxury interior of this unique SUV.
Premium residential and commercial audio brands Theory Audio Design (Theory) and Pro Audio Technology (PRO) announced today the appointment of Marc Bertrand as Chief Operating Officer of both entities. Bertrand is said to have a long and highly-regarded history that will greatly assist both brands in their market growth initiatives.
Crestron Electronics announced today that John Clancy, the current Executive Vice President of Residential, is being elevated to Chief Sales Officer, effective immediately. As the company’s top sales executive, the company says that Clancy “will lead and unify the global Crestron sales organization to drive market growth and enhance customer satisfaction.”
Nice North America announced this week that it has appointed Mark Ohlwiler as its new Regional Sales Manager in the West region. Ohlwiler’s appointment was effective as of April 3, 2023.
This week we learned that Colquhoun Audio Laboratories Limited (CALL), the folks who also own Axiom Audio and Bryston, Ltd, have made a new acquisition, this time buying Magnum Dynalab, a highly regarded manufacturer of high-performance tuners and vacuum tube audio products. The company says the transaction was closed on March 31, 2023. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Last week, a major patent trial began in Southern California as Masimo Corp. vs. Apple Inc. kicked off. And already big stories are flowing out of the proceedings that, for several days now, were entirely or partly conducted in complete secrecy, as Masimo executives testified behind closed doors.
MQA Limited, the company that invented and markets the Master Quality Authenticated digital music system said to deliver lossless high-res streaming music, has entered “administration” in the U.K. Administration is a form of bankruptcy or protection from creditors similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy here in the U.S. In the U.K., administration offers an insolvent company time to reorganize, develop a new plan, and – with stakeholder and government approval – an opportunity to exit bankruptcy.
As I write this post on Wednesday, it is the opening day of the patent infringement and trade secrets trial based on a lawsuit filed by Masimo Corporation [NASDAQ: MASI] and Cercacor Laboratories, Inc. (a Masimo-affiliated company) versus Apple, Inc. [NASDAQ: AAPL]. You could call it David vs. Goliath, as tiny Masimo tangles with Apple, the largest corporation in the world. This lawsuit was originally filed back in January 2020 by Masimo who claims that Apple has misappropriated trade secrets by hiring former Masimo employees and stealing Masimo patented technologies, valuable intellectual property (IP) they consider trade secrets, for use in Apple products.
