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News


APPLE WATCH BAN WILL BOOST BIDEN MEGA-DONOR WHOM PRESIDENT CALLS ‘ONE OF MY
CLOSEST FRIENDS’

By Isabel Vincent

Published Dec. 28, 2023, 6:00 a.m. ET

A Democratic mega-donor whom Joe Biden called “one of my closest friends” stands
to win from a ban on the latest version of Apple Watches — which has already
been upheld by the president.

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The Biden-backed ban was put on temporary hold by a federal appeals court
Wednesday as Apple battles to overturn it — and end a long-running claim by
medical technology company Masimo that the Silicon Valley giant has stolen its
intellectual property.

Joe Kiani, the multimillionaire founder and CEO of Masimo, has donated millions
to Democrats and is a particularly close supporter of Biden, with donations
including $1 million to his Biden Foundation.

But his legal war with Apple led to the US International Trade Commission ruling
that its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models breached Masimo’s patent for
blood-oxygen level reading technology, and that importing them should be banned.

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The White House had until Christmas Day to overturn the ban by getting US Trade
Representative Katherine Tai to block it, but decided not to and it went into
place.

10
This was how Vice President Joe Biden greeted Joe Kiani in 2015. Kiani became
one of Biden’s biggest donors in the 2020 election and was rewarded with a role
on a powerful White House advisory group. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
10
Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen, have been guests of Joe and Sarah
Kiani at their sprawling, $50 million ranch and vineyard three hours north of
Los Angeles. SplashNews.com

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10
In April, the beleaguered first son sought refuge with his wife and young son at
the Kianis’ 8,000-acre ranch in California. SplashNews.com


MORE ON: APPLE WATCH


 * APPLE WATCH IMPORTS INTO THE US BARRED BY COURT WHILE COMPANY APPEALS PATENT
   INFRINGEMENT


 * THE APPLE WATCH SERIES 9 IS (STILL!) AT ITS LOWEST PRICE OF THE YEAR ON
   AMAZON


 * REDESIGNED APPLE WATCHES NOT SUBJECT TO IMPORT BAN, US CUSTOMS SAYS


 * DOJ CLOSE TO HITTING APPLE WITH MASSIVE ANTITRUST SUIT OVER IPHONE DOMINANCE:
   REPORT

Then it was put on hold Wednesday by a federal appeals court when Apple formally
applied to appeal the ruling, and asked for and obtained an emergency order
putting the ban on hold.

The amount of money at stake for Apple or for Masimo is unknown.

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But Kiani has cultivated exceptionally close ties to Biden, who in 2019 spoke at
an event where Kiani was in the audience and called him out as “one of my
closest friends,” the Associated Press reported.

Kiani, 59, is an Iranian American businessman who is among Biden’s biggest
donors.

10
Kiani and his stay-at-home wife, Sarah, are major donors to Democrats and their
causes.

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10
Joe and Sarah Kiani were among the guests at the Biden White House’s state
dinner in December 2022 for France’s Emmanuel Macron. C-SPAN

In addition to a $1 million donation to the Biden Foundation, Kiani donated
$750,000 to the pro-Biden Unite the Country PAC in 2020, part of nearly $3
million he bundled to the president’s campaign, super PAC and inaugural
committee. He is also a significant Democratic Party donor.

A spokesman for Masimo said the CEO and his “team” had never lobbied Biden or
Tai over the Apple Watch dispute and accused Apple CEO Tim Cook of having his
own lobbying effort.

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“This dispute has never been about money for Masimo,” the spokesman said. “The
company’s motivation has always been and remains to hold Apple accountable for
infringing Masimo’s patents and to restore integrity to the marketplace.”

The White House declined to comment. Tai’s office did not return a request for
comment. The Post has reached out to Apple for comment.

10
The Biden administration allowed a federal ban to proceed on the latest version
of the Apple Watch after Joe Kiani’s tech company launched copyright
infringement challenges against the tech giant. REUTERS

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10
The Apple Watch dispute puts Kiani at loggerheads with Apple CEO Tim Cook
(left), who was in the White House in June with President Biden for talks on
tech and investment with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi (center).

Kiani and his wife, Sarah, were guests at a state dinner for France’s President
Emmanuel Macron in December 2022, and then at a White House reception for
Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in March 2023.

“Thank you @POTUS and @FLOTUS for celebrating #Nowruz at the White House,” Kiani
posted on X. “You really have been the President for all Americans.”

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A month later, in April, Kiani and his wife hosted first son Hunter Biden and
his wife, Melissa Cohen, at their sprawling, 8,000-acre (12.5-square-mile) Kiani
Preserve, three hours north of Los Angeles.

The $50 million Santa Ynez property includes a main house and guest house, both
of which are equipped with a pool, tennis courts and a vineyard.

10
Catherine Kiani was given a job working for Jill Biden after she graduated from
tony liberal arts school Claremont McKenna College. In 2002, her father posted
this photo showing her voting for the first time on his Instagram.
joe.kiani/Instagram

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10
Kiani’s daughter gushed about her experience at the White House in her tony
college’s alumni magazine. CMC Magazine

Kiani has cultivated ties to the Biden family in other ways. He offered an
$85,000-a-year job to troubled Biden niece Caroline Biden in July 2018,
according to emails and text messages found on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

The job would have allowed her to move to Los Angeles — where she wanted to be
close to her cousin Hunter, to serve two years of probation for a stolen credit
card — but she scoffed that the offer was effectively “below minimum wage.”

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The Bidens have in turn helped out the Kianis.

Kiani was appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology in 2021. The panel is the sole body “charged with making science,
technology and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White
House,” giving Kiani a powerful platform.

10
Kiani posed in front of this portrait of Biden as a senator, and uses his social
media to regularly praise the president for his policies. joe.kiani/Instagram

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And Kiani’s daughter Catherine got her first job out of college working in Jill
Biden’s office in the East Wing of the White House.

What do you think? Post a comment.

Catherine, now a student at the Penn Carey Law School at the University of
Pennsylvania, gushed about meeting alumni from her tony liberal arts school,
Claremont McKenna College, in Claremont, Calif., at the White House state dinner
for Macron, where her parents were guests.

And the first lady spoke at a panel Kiani organized at the high-profile tech
conference and film festival, SXSW, in Austin, Texas, in 2021, to push the
“civic engagement platform” he started in 2020.


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Filed under apple ,  apple watch ,  democrats ,  donors ,  joe biden ,  medical
devices ,  tim cook ,  white house ,  12/28/23
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