Solos, a rival smart-glasses maker, sued Meta for patent infringement related to its Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Gen 1 smart glasses. The lawsuit, reported by Bloomberg, seeks multiple billions of dollars in damages and an injunction to halt sales of the product.
Solos alleges that the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Gen 1 violates multiple patents covering core technologies in the field of smart eyewear. These patents protect fundamental aspects of smart glasses functionality that Solos developed over years of research and production.
Solos markets its own AirGo A5 glasses, which enable users to control music playback directly through voice commands. The device also automatically translates speech into different languages in real time. Additionally, the AirGo A5 integrates ChatGPT to answer user questions and perform web searches on demand, providing hands-free access to information.
Solos claims Meta gained the ability to replicate its patented technologies through prior access by Oakley employees and Meta staff to Solos products and development roadmaps. Oakley, a subsidiary of EssilorLuxottica, collaborated closely with Solos on smart eyewear initiatives.
In 2015, Oakley employees received an introduction to Solos smart-glasses technology during meetings focused on potential partnerships. By 2019, Oakley staff obtained a pair of Solos glasses specifically for hands-on testing and evaluation of performance features.
A former MIT Sloan Fellow conducted research on Solos technology before transitioning to a product manager position at Meta. This individual allegedly carried detailed knowledge of Solos innovations into the new role at Meta, influencing product development.
Once Meta partnered with EssilorLuxottica to sell Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, both companies had amassed years of direct, senior-level, detailed knowledge of Solos technology through these interactions and personnel movements.
Fewer people own Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses compared to Instagram users. Meta views the wearable as one of its few hardware success stories despite limited adoption relative to software platforms.
Meta recently restructured its Reality Labs division to prioritize AI hardware, including smart glasses, with the aim of expanding on the Ray-Ban Meta achievements.
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