Opternative Wins In First Round of Ongoing Litigation with Warby Parker

CHICAGO, Aug. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Opternative, Inc. is pleased to report that it secured a major victory in its ongoing litigation against JAND, Inc. (d/b/a Warby Parker).  Opternative filed its lawsuit against Warby on September 12, 2017, alleging that Warby breached numerous non-disclosure agreements by using sensitive, confidential information obtained under several non-disclosure agreements to inform its competitive business decisions and to develop its own intellectual property and products (including its Prescription Check system, launched in May of 2017).  Opternative's complaint alleged that Warby had repeatedly requested confidential and competitively sensitive information, including control over a testing environment running Opternative's online refraction system from which Opternative's proprietary algorithm could be reverse-engineered, actively misled Opternative about whether Warby intended to develop its own online refraction system, secretly filed a patent application (which also derived from Opternative's confidential information) covering that system, and ultimately introduced that as a competing system.

On August 7, 2018, the Court denied Warby's motion to dismiss Opternative's claim for breach of the numerous non-disclosure agreements entered into between the parties, finding that:

Opternative alleges Warby Parker used Opternative's Confidential Information?including demonstrations of its in-development system, internal memoranda and reports, and methods of distance determination using a camera?to inform its decision to enter the online refraction market, in making strategic and marketing decisions, in the invention of the 709 Patent, and in the design and development of Prescription Check.  These allegations are sufficient to establish circumstantial evidence from which the factfinder could infer that Warby Parker used Opternative's Confidential Information for purposes other than evaluating a business relationship with Opternative, in breach of the NDAs. 

Opternative, Inc. v. JAND, Inc. (d/b/a Warby Parker), 17-cv-6936-JFK, Dkt. 42 at 17 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 7, 2018).  This comes less than two weeks following oral argument on Warby's motion to dismiss before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.  While the Court dismissed Opternative's trade secret claims, it provided Opternative an opportunity to amend its complaint as to those counts.

"We are confident that our litigation against Warby will lead to success for Opternative," said Opternative's CEO, Brent Rasmussen. "We look forward to continuing discovery and achieving a positive outcome."

About Opternative
Opternative Inc., a Chicago-based healthcare technology company, founded in 2012, creates digital eye care technologies that enable patient choice and convenience while providing doctors and retailers the ability to create awesome user experiences. Opternative has created the most convenient and scientifically accurate digital refractive vision test.

Opternative partners can now offer their clients a refractive vision test and acuity screenings from anywhere at any time. Opternative has partnered with eye care providers and eyewear retailers across the U.S. to bring this revolutionary service to our partners' clients. For more information on partnering with Opternative, email [email protected] or visit our partner page here.

Media Contact:
Shelby Eversole
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SOURCE Opternative, Inc.