Latest News Seiko to Sublicense Free-form Progressive Lens Patent to IOT By Staff Wednesday, April 23, 2014 12:30 AM Aki Sukegawa. MAHWAH, N.J.— Seiko Optical Products of America announced that it has agreed to sublicense its ’470 patent to Indizen Optical Technologies (IOT), a leading designer of spectacle lenses. Seiko Epson, parent company of Seiko Optical Products of America, was issued patent 6,019,470 on Feb. 1, 2000, making it the first patent for free-form progressive lenses. The patent, which encompasses the design and manufacture of back-surface progressive lenses, remains a principal patent in the free-form lens category. Seiko executives said that after a recent re-examination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled in favor of its parent company, Seiko Epson, the lens maker wanted to collaborate with IOT to address any concerns by their customers regarding possible infringement of the patent. “We are pleased to partner with IOT to license this broad and fundamental patent that covers both product designs and manufacturing methods for back-surface progressive lenses,” said Aki Sukegawa, president of Seiko Optical Products of America, based here. Under the terms of the agreement, all IOT customers that are producing products which use Seiko ’470 patent will be covered as of April 1, 2014.