Livermore, Calif. - Wiley X Eyewear®, the industry leader in the research and development of protective eyewear, won a major court battle against Panoptx® Inc. for infringing upon Wiley X's US Patent No 6,062,688.... Under the settlement, Panoptx will have to stop selling its Velocity CV and Warrior products to the military by the end of the year, and to all other market segments by the end of 2008. Panoptx will also be required to pay Wiley X royalties on all 2008 sales of these products.
I don't have a link yet but this was the first paragraph of the press release.
For those of you not familiar with these two California-based eyewear companies, both make several styles of high-end sunglasses with a removeable foam-lined gasket or eyecup. While developed for sports and military markets, these glasses are invaluable to people with dry eye because they act as a moisture chamber or micro-environment, keeping moisture on the eyes longer and keeping irritating air drafts and irritants from reaching the eye surface. In the past couple of years this type of eyewear has become better known as an important aid in dry eye management (particularly for those with high pain levels).
Which Panoptx dry eye products are affected
Under the terms of the settlement, by December 2008 Panoptx must stop selling all of its 5 styles with the removeable eyecup. That means the Solano, Churada, Whirlwind, Diablo and Bora models. The Cyclone and Viento (which do not have a removeable eyecup) are not affected.
What's going to happen to the affected Panoptx products
Panoptx says that nothing will change for their customers until December 2008. By that time, they plan on developing a new eyecup technology that does not infringe the Wiley-X patent.
Are dry eye patients ultimately going to have fewer options as a result of this lawsuit?
I have spoken with Panoptx and Wiley-X and am expecting more detailed statements from them shortly about the impact on the dry eye segment. They have both verbally assured me of their commitment to the dry eye market. Wiley-X currently has 6 framestyles available with the removeable gasket and are developing new framestyles for next year. Panoptx are also working on developing new technologies.
Bottom line for us?
It's early days to speculate but here's my take: IF Panoptx has the financial wherewithall to weather this, it could lead to more and better products for us as Panoptx are essentially being forced to develop alternative foam-lined eyewear. At the same time, Wiley-X will be under pressure to develop additional products to replace those products that the lawsuit is essentially forcing off the market. The more products out there with foam lining, the better.
But... some of those ifs are considerable. I'll keep you posted as I get more information. The next several months should prove interesting.
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