Apple Watch import ban up to Biden administration after ITC order

22july2013 said:

x38 said:
Masimo is a publicly traded US company with a current market cap of about $4.35B. Apple reportedly has about $62.5B cash on hand. Why doesn’t Apple just buy Masimo, or at least a controlling interest in the stock, assign itself the patents in dispute, then keep or sell the rest of the company as makes sense.
Seems like it would be cheaper than all the legal costs in the end.

I like your train of thought, but Apple probably thinks that the worst case scenario would cost them less than purchasing a controlling interest ($2B). Although technically Apple could re-sell its $2B investment after giving themselves the patent to recoup some of that expense. Don't forget that the market cap probably includes the expected income from the possible win against (or settlement with) Apple, which means the company is worth less than that without a win against Apple.

While I agree Apple is rich and powerful enough to roll the dice and figure out consequences later, it's just not a good look.

It is not the first time a company has been invited to Apple to discuss a partnership on some feature, only to discover later that it was all a ruse. Apple was only interested in seeing what they came up with and how it was implemented, saving Apple time and expense deciding how to proceed without sharing the fruit.

IMHO, any company should be extremely wary if Apple reaches out to them, claiming interest in some product they have. I've had two similar though much smaller situations over the years. A certain boat manufacturer got me on the first one. Lesson learned. With the second I required money up-front and my own ND agreement for even a peek at what we had come up with.