DITTO
{{other uses|Ditto (disambiguation){{!}}Ditto}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Ditto
| foundation = {{Start date|2011}}
| type = Private
| founder = Kate Endress, Sergey Surkov, Dmitry Kornilov
| location_city = Oakland, CA
| industry = Software
| products = Virtual try-on software
| homepage = {{URL|luna.io}}
}}
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{{cite magazine|author=Cromwell Schubarth |title=Eyewear seller Ditto emerges from legal fight with funding, rebranded website |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2014/11/20/eyeware-seller-ditto-emerges-from-legal-fight-with.html |access-date=December 3, 2022 |magazine=Silicon Valley Business Journal |date=November 20, 2014}}{{subscription required}} 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.Hay, Timothy. [http://pevc.dowjones.com/Article?an=DJFVW00020120426e84qax0wu&ReturnUrl=http%3a%2f%2fpevc.dowjones.com%3a80%2fArticle%3fan%3dDJFVW00020120426e84qax0wu "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."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022131213/http://pevc.dowjones.com/Article?an=DJFVW00020120426e84qax0wu&ReturnUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fpevc.dowjones.com%3A80%2FArticle%3Fan%3DDJFVW00020120426e84qax0wu |date=2012-10-22 }}, Dow Jones VentureWire, 26 April 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
History
Ditto was founded in 2011 in Mountain View, CA by Kate Endress, Sergey Surkov, and Dmitry Kornilov.Lunden, Ingrid. [http://www.fastcompany.com/1843440/do-these-glasses-make-your-clone-look-smarter "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.
In April 2012, the company announced that it had picked up $3 million in funding from a group of investors led by August Capital.Lunden, Ingrid. [https://techcrunch.com/2012/04/26/ditto-picks-up-3-million-from-august-capital-others-for-its-virtual-3d-eyeglasses-sales-site/ "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.
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.{{cite web |title=Important Notice: DITTO's eCommerce Site is Closing. |url=https://milled.com/ditto-com/important-notice-dittos-ecommerce-site-is-closing-cSwfc254AljsIer0 |website=Milled |accessdate=2 November 2018 |date=February 27, 2017}} 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.{{ cite web |url=https://mobile.visionmonday.com/business/article/1800-contacts-acquires-ditto/ |title=UPDATED: 1-800 Contacts Acquires Ditto |website=Vision Monday |accessdate=28 August 2023 |date=7 October 2021 }}
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.Walker, Allie. [http://www.psfk.com/2012/07/3d-virtual-fitting-tech-social-try-on.html "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.
Patent infringement lawsuits
In May 2013, Ditto was sued by 1-800 Contacts and Lennon Imaging Technology for patent infringement.{{cite news | last=Ha | first=Anthony | url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/21/ditto-patent-indiegogo-campaign/ | title=Ditto Turns To Indiegogo For Help Battling Patent Lawsuits (Including One From 1-800-Contacts) | work=Techcrunch| date=May 21, 2013}}
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"{{cite web | url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/04/1-800-contacts-buys-patent-squelch-competition | title=UPDATED: Help Stop 1-800-CONTACTS from Abusing Patents to Squelch Competition | publisher=Electronic Frontier Foundation | date=2013-04-22 | access-date=2013-05-23 | last1=Nazer | first1=Daniel | last2=Samuels | first2=Julie}} 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.Ha, Anthony. [https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/12/ditto-wins-defeats-patent-claim-after-teaming-up-with-a-troll/ "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.
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.ditto.com/ Official website]
Category:Companies based in San Mateo, California
Category:Retail companies established in 2011
Category:Privately held companies based in California
Category:Companies based in Silicon Valley
Category:Eyewear companies of the United States
Category:Software companies established in 2011
Category:2021 mergers and acquisitions
Category:2011 establishments in California
Category:2021 disestablishments in California
Category:American companies established in 2011
Category:American companies disestablished in 2021