DITTO

Ditto (stylized as DITTO) was a company that sold software that enabled eyewear companies to sell their products online using virtual fitting. Originally Ditto was a retailer that sold designer prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses. The company was originally based in San Francisco, CA[1] before moving to Oakland, CA in 2018. It used virtual fitting technology to let customers try on eyeglass frames from a computer. The technology measured a customer's face by homing in on pupils, ears, cheekbones, ears and other facial landmarks, and then produced images of dozens of different pairs of glasses that might be a good fit.[2]

For other uses, see Ditto.
Ditto
TypePrivate
IndustrySoftware
Founded2011 (2011)
FounderKate Endress, Sergey Surkov, Dmitry Kornilov
Headquarters
Oakland, CA
ProductsVirtual try-on software
Websiteluna.io

History

Ditto was founded in 2011 in Mountain View, CA by Kate Endress, Sergey Surkov, and Dmitry Kornilov.[3]

In April 2012, the company announced that it had picked up $3 million in funding from a group of investors led by August Capital.[4]

At the end of February 2017, Ditto sent an email to its customers explaining that its online eyewear e-commerce and eyewear distribution would be closing down.[5] They continued to license their virtual try-on technology to other eyewear retailers.

In 2021, the company was acquired by 1-800 Contacts and rebranded as Luna Solutions, LLC.[6]

Products

Ditto's product line included prescription and non-prescription designer eyeglasses and sunglasses. The company carried brands such as Ray-Ban, Persol, Chloé, TAG Heuer, and Vera Wang, as well as niche fashion and boutique brands like Jason Wu, Selima Optique, Alain Mikli, Anglo American, and John Varvatos.[7]

Patent infringement lawsuits

In May 2013, Ditto was sued by 1-800 Contacts and Lennon Imaging Technology for patent infringement.[8]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation claimed that 1-800 Contacts abused patent law by acting like a patent troll in its lawsuit against Ditto. In a blog post, the EFF accused 1-800 Contacts of "leveraging the massive expense of patent litigation to squelch the competition"[9] and asked its followers to help Ditto by crowdsourcing prior art.

The lawsuit by Lennon Imaging Technologies was dismissed on October 7, 2013 without prejudice.[10]

References
  1. Cromwell Schubarth (November 20, 2014). "Eyewear seller Ditto emerges from legal fight with funding, rebranded website". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2022.(subscription required)
  2. Hay, Timothy. "The site's software, which was built in-house, measures a user's face by homing in on pupils, ears, cheekbones, ears and other facial landmarks, and then comes back with images of dozens of different pairs of glasses that might be a good fit." Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine, Dow Jones VentureWire, 26 April 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  3. Lunden, Ingrid. "CEO Kate Endress, a Stanford Business School alum who co-founded the company with engineers Sergey Surkov and Dmitry Kornilov", Fast Company, 24 July 2012. Retrieved on 6 January 2013.
  4. Lunden, Ingrid. "announced that it has picked up a $3 million in funding from a group of investors led by August Capital", Techcrunch, 26 April 2012. Retrieved on 20 December 2012.
  5. "Important Notice: DITTO's eCommerce Site is Closing". Milled. February 27, 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  6. "UPDATED: 1-800 Contacts Acquires Ditto". Vision Monday. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  7. Walker, Allie. "Our designer roster includes such household names as Ray-Ban, Persol, Chloe, TAG Heuer, and Vera Wang, as well as niche fashion and boutique brands like Jason Wu, Selima Optique, Alain Mikli, Anglo American, and John Varvatos.", psfk, 20 July 2012. Retrieved on 21 December 2012.
  8. Ha, Anthony (May 21, 2013). "Ditto Turns To Indiegogo For Help Battling Patent Lawsuits (Including One From 1-800-Contacts)". Techcrunch.
  9. Nazer, Daniel; Samuels, Julie (2013-04-22). "UPDATED: Help Stop 1-800-CONTACTS from Abusing Patents to Squelch Competition". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 2013-05-23.
  10. Ha, Anthony. "the company was actually facing two suits, including one from Lennon, which is a "non-practicing" company that owns intellectual property but doesn’t offer any products or services of its own. A judge has granted Ditto’s motion to have Lennon’s lawsuit dismissed", Techcrunch, 12 October 2013. Retrieved on 24 October 2013.
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