All Legal & Institutional articles
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News briefs
The German optician association elects a new president
The Zentralverband der Augenoptiker und Optometristen (ZVA), Germany’s association of opticians and optometrists, has unanimously elected Kai Jaeger as its President during its general meeting last weekend. Jaeger, who was a ZVA Vice President in the previous board, is succeeding Christian Müller who becomes Honorary President. Müller has been on ...
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News briefs
Daegu government launches K-Eyewear policy initiative
The Daegu Metropolitan Government (South Korea) officially launched the K-Eyewear Global Policy Council yesterday, a public-private initiative aimed at supporting the development of the country’s eyewear industry which “has suffered from low-price attacks from latecomers.” The government, however, stressed that the “hallyu” (the global spread of the country’s pop culture) ...
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ArticleMeta AI glasses sending intimate data to third parties?
According to a joint report by two Swedish newspapers, workers in Nairobi, Kenya, have been reviewing intimate episodes – in the form of video and audio recordings and transcribed user interactions – from the lives of users of the smart glasses produced by Meta and EssilorLuxottica. Some of these episodes ...
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News briefsSmart glasses a no-no in California court
A judge threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and others on Feb. 18 with charges of contempt of court should they use their Ray-Ban Meta glasses to record the proceedings, according to Forbes. Apparently, Zuckerberg and at least some of his personnel entered the court wearing the smart glasses. At issue ...
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ArticleTrump’s tariffs – a timeline
Here, Eyewear Intelligence contributors will post all the news regarding Trump´s tariffs that have an effect on the industry.
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News briefs
Leading smart ring brand files smart glasses system patent in the US
Oura, the leading smart ring company, filed a patent application in the US last month for a system connecting its health-monitoring rings to a pair of smart glasses. The detailed filing can be found on the US patents database (n°20260023426). The main idea behind the system is that users could ...
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News briefs
Italian eyewear innovation center launched in Belluno
Innovereye, an Italian innovation center focused on the adoption of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in the eyewear sector, has been launched in Belluno with the Italian eyewear trade association ANFAO, the Belluno Dolomiti chapter of the Italian business association Confindustria and Aivisory, a consultancy focused on AI adoption, ...
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News briefs
Italy’s Anfao, trade unions reach agreement on new labor contract
The Italian eyewear trade association Anfao reached an agreement with trade union representatives on the terms of a new contract affecting the approximately 20,000 workers in Italy’s eyewear industry and covering the 2026-2028 period. The contract foresees a gradual increase in average monthly salaries over the three years, which will ...
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News briefs
Thélios sanctioned in Romania in online sales restriction case
Consiliul Concurentei, the market competition watchdog in Romania, has sanctioned Thélios and Shades Originators, its local trade partner. The agency says that Thélios’ commercial policy prohibited Shades Originators from selling its luxury eyewear. The eyewear subsidiary of LVMH Group was sanctioned with a 4.5 million lei fine (€0.9m). Shades Originators, ...
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ArticleHong Kong smart eyewear company seeks 'billions of dollars' in damages from Meta-Essilux
Solos Technology, a Hong Kong-based smart glasses company, is suing Meta Platforms, Meta Platforms Technologies, Oakley, Luxottica of America and EssilorLuxottica USA for “willful direct and indirect patent infringement” of its own “foundational technologies.” The case was filed with the US District Court of Massachusetts on Jan. 23, 2025, and ...
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News briefs
Turkish competition authorities investigate EssilorLuxottica
Rekabet Kurumu, the Turkish market-competition watchdog, is opening an investigation into EssilorLuxottica’s commercial practices after a preliminary inquiry at the end of last year. The agency suspects that the eyewear group “has created de facto exclusivity via various practices in the markets for the wholesale of ophthalmic lenses, wholesale of ...
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ArticleGentle Monster throws legal challenge at fast-growing K-eyewear challenger
Gentle Monster is taking legal aim at Blue Elephant, another South Korean eyewear brand successfully surfing the “hallyu”, the global K-pop culture trend, albeit at much lower price points. IiCombined, the mother company of Gentle Monster, reportedly filed a criminal complaint against its competitor with South Korean authorities in December ...
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News briefs
The EU introduces €3 duty on small parcels
The European Union has decided to implement a temporary customs duty of €3 per item on e-commerce parcels valued under €150, starting July 1, 2026. This change ends the previous tax exemption for such shipments, and is expected to impact Chinese e-commerce retailers like Shein,Temu or AliExpress, which accounted for ...
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News briefs
EU updated driving license rules clarify eyesight provisions
Updated European Union driving license rules, including eyesight provisions, came into effect on Nov. 25, 2025, and member states must amend their national laws accordingly by November 2029, the European Council of Optometry and Optics (ECOO), a contributor to the new directive, has announced. The main eyesight-related provision update is ...
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News briefs
Japan market watchdog investigates Ray-Ban and Oakley trade practices
The Japan Fair Trade Commission began an on-site inspection at Luxottica Japan’s headquarters earlier this week, Nikkei Shinbun and other news outlets have reported. The company is reportedly suspected of having fixed resale prices of some Ray-Ban and Oakley products for several years, by asking retailers not to sell them ...
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ArticleEssilux backs Stellest 2.0 claims with new peer-reviewed study, joins CCOI
On the heels of the presentation of its new Stellest 2.0 lens at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last week, EssilorLuxottica has announced the publication of a new peer-reviewed study that supports its claims of higher efficiency in slowing the progression of myopia. The results of the study ...
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News briefs
TVC advocates against expansion of US tariffs to more optical products
The broad product definition of two ongoing US national security investigations might encompass optical products and lead to more tariffs, The Vision Council signals. We also find they could include smart glasses.
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News briefs
ANFAO and other Italian fashion industry associations conclude Brazilian tour
ANFAO, the Italian eyewear industry association, has just concluded a promotional tour of three major cities in Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro), along with other Italian fashion-related industry associations. The tour was organized by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) with financial support from the Ministry of ...
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News briefs
Advanced AMD patients recover sight in clinical trial
People suffering from advanced dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and considered legally blind, could read again thanks to a subretinal photovoltaic implant combined with a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses, a study published earlier this week in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed. The clinical trial involved a ...
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News briefs
New Chairman at Spectaris
Spectaris, the German industry association for optics and related sectors, has announced the election of André Shulte, CEO of Weinmann Emergency Medical Technology, as its new Chairman. He succeeds Dr. Bernhard Ohnesorge, whose term has ended after two years. Maik Müller, CEO of Nynomix, was elected as the new Deputy ...
