Apparently, if you have some new technology that Jobs Mob lacks, being friendly is a sure sign that it is about to steal your staff, your idea, and then claim to have invented it.

The Journal cites the case of Joe Kiani, the founder of a company that makes blood-oxygen measurement devices. He figured his technology was a perfect fit for the Apple Watch.

Soon after meeting him, Apple began hiring employees from his company, Masimo, including engineers and its chief medical officer. Apple offered to double their salaries, Kiani said.

In 2019, Apple published patents under the name of a former Masimo engineer for sensors similar to Masimo's, documents show.

The following year, Apple launched a watch that could measure blood oxygen levels.

"When Apple takes an interest in a company, it's the kiss of death. First, you get all excited. Then you realize that the long-term plan is to do it themselves and take it all."

Kiani is one of more than two dozen executives, inventors, investors, and lawyers who described similar encounters with Apple. First, they said, came discussions about potential partnerships or integration of their technology into Apple products. Then, they said, talks stopped and Apple launched its own similar features.

Of course, the Fruity Cargo Cult denies it has stolen anything and says that if Kiani and others like him say it has, they have the option of taking their claims to court and fight Apple’s expensive lawyers all the way to the supreme court.

Apple has tried to invalidate hundreds of patents owned by companies that have accused Apple of violating their patents. According to lawyers and executives at some smaller companies, Apple sometimes files multiple petitions on a single patent claim and attempts to invalidate patents unrelated to the initial dispute.

Software developers have named what they describe as Apple's behaviour in such cases: sherlocking. The term refers to an episode about two decades ago when Apple released a software product called "Sherlock" that helped users find files on its Mac computers and perform internet searches.