Masimo Founder and CEO Joe Kiani Honored with First IP Champion Award

Masimo Founder and CEO Joe Kiani was honored last night at the 2018 IPO Education Foundation Awards Dinner with the first ever IP Champion Award. The Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to educating the public on the importance of IP to society, has been awarding an Inventor of the Year for 45 years and Distinguished IP Professional for 10 years. 2018 marks the creation of a new award, IP Champion, bestowed upon Kiani for showing “extraordinary leadership in advocating for the value of intellectual property to the progress of innovation.” Retired Chief Judge Paul Michel, formerly U.S. Circuit Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Chief Judge of that court, commented, “Serial inventor Joe Kiani built a major patient health improving company, starting from scratch at age 23, obtaining VC funding based on his patent applications when patents were strong. Later Congressional and Supreme Court interventions so sapped patent strength that he could not repeat his feat today. Reviving patents is essential to America’s future since most major inventions, new jobs, and personal welfare gains and economic growth result from start-ups and small and mid-sized technology companies like Masimo. It actually saves many lives each day with its patient monitoring devices. Isn’t that what we need as much today as before?”

In his acceptance speech, Kiani noted, “Without a strong IP system, Masimo would not have been able to get funding, would not have been able to stop the monopolists in our market that tried to steal it, and would not have been able to solve unsolvable problems like the development of noninvasive hemoglobin measurement. The system worked – and I want to thank the patent office and our judicial system, including the many incredible judges and juries who are able to tell truth from falsehood.” Kiani continued, “Throughout all of Masimo’s growth, we haven’t changed our philosophy nor our actions when it comes to intellectual property. We believe property rights are essential to a growing economy, and when it comes to a growing innovation economy, intellectual property rights are even more necessary. That’s why we use our success story to remind Congress, the FTC, and anyone who will listen that when it comes to IP protection, one must take the long view. . . . If we make patents and trade secrets strong, future Masimos will also be able to raise funds to solve unsolvable problems, ones hopefully even more important for our survival and economic prosperity.” The awards dinner was held on December 11th at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Kiani was accompanied by his wife Sarah and guests Retired Senator Tom Harkin and his wife Ruth. David Hall, Founder and CEO of Velodyne LiDAR, was named Inventor of the Year. – Medical Buyer Bureau