U.S. Patent Office Affirms Ocuco Challenge to Seiko Patent

MANCHESTER, Conn.—The U.S. Patent Office has found that the request for re-examination of Seiko Epson's patent 6,019,470 filed by Ocuco Inc. on May 21 raises "a substantial new question of patentability," and has recommended that all 20 claims in the patent be canceled in a "Non-Final Office Action" published in October.   The '470 patent, issued to Seiko Epson on Feb. 1, 2000, covers the invention of back-surface progressive lenses. It is one of the key patents for free-form progressive lens designs, and is the basis for the royalty that Seiko charges to optical laboratories that produce back-surface progressive lenses.   "This is the next step in our effort to get Seiko's patent canceled—our request for re-examination of the patent was granted, and now, upon re-examination, the patent office has found our arguments persuasive," said Robert Shanbaum, president of Ocuco. "The Office Action is 'non-final,' and Seiko Epson now has an opportunity to respond to the examiner's findings," Shanbaum said.    See more