Online Retailers Duke It Out over Virtual Try-On Program

Online eyewear retailer, Ditto.com, announced today that it will defend itself against a patent infringement lawsuit filed by a competitor who is using a recently purchased patent to seek an injunction on Ditto’s 3D virtual try-on technology for eyewear. The lawsuit (Case No. 2:13-cv-00145) was filed in the District of Utah by 1-800-Contacts, whose division Glasses.com, directly competes with Ditto. 1-800-Contacts is a division of managed care giant, WellPoint. Jonathan Coon, cofounder and CEO of 1-800-Contacts, tried Ditto's virtual fitting technology soon after the launch of DITTO’s website in April 2012, according to Ditto’s press release. Soon thereafter, in May 2012, 1-800-Contacts moved to acquire rights to a patent, which it’s now using to sue Ditto (Case No. 2:13-cv-00145). Read more.

Ditto Offering Progressives

Online eyewear retailer Ditto.com now offers progressive lenses as a result of high demand from its customers, according to the company spokesperson. The Ditto site uses a patent-pending, 3D virtual video try-on software.Read more.

Former WNBA Star Behind New Online Eyewear Company

Endress Posing for her new company, Ditto

"Now a new eyewear startup in San Mateo, Calif., is taking a different approach from its upstart competitors. Rather than sell its own line of glasses, Ditto partners with 20 eyewear brands, such as Ray-Ban and Persol. Shoppers can try on hundreds of frames in videos of themselves, using their webcams," goes the post on Business Week. "Prices are comparable to brick-and-mortar stores. “We can coexist, and we will—whether [retail chains] like it or not,” says Kate Endress, who launched Ditto in April with former engineers from Google (GOOG) and Nokia (NOK) and has raised $3 million. 'Certain people want to buy online, but there’s always a place for a retail location.' Endress, a basketball star at Indiana’s Ball State University who played briefly with the professional Connecticut Sun prior to an investment banking stint at Citigroup, got her MBA at Stanford in 2011 before launching Ditto. She says more than 13,000 try-on videos have been created on the startup’s site. She won’t disclose sales." Read more.

Another Online Store

DITTO.com has launched an eCommerce site for designer eyewear, featuring what it describes as a 3D virtual fitting technology. The site allows consumers to record a short video with their webcam to create a 3D virtual self, or “ditto”. Users can virtually try-on eyewear in 180-degree views to see how a particular style looks and fits their face before they make a purchase. The site also integrates social media features, allowing the user to post side-by-side snapshots of their ditto in different glasses to Facebook to poll friends for opinions.Read more.

DITTO also closed $3 million in financing led by August Capital. Angel investors, friends and family also participated in the round. Read more.