25 April 2024

Tekcapital Plc

("Tekcapital")

Innovative Eyewear, Inc. Announces New Patent Filings and

Receipt of Notices of Allowance on Smart Safety Eyewear

Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK), the UK intellectual property investment group notes that Innovative Eyewear, Inc. ("Innovative Eyewear" or "Innovative") (NASDAQ: LUCY; LUCYW), the developer of ChatGPT enabled smart eyewear under the Lucyd®, Nautica®, Eddie Bauer® and Reebok® brands, is pleased to announce of two new United States patent applications, a utility application, No. 18/605,092, entitled  SMART EYEWEAR HAVING ACCESSIBLE TACTILE CONTROLS and a design application, No. 29/930,655, entitled SAFETY EYEWEAR. 

Innovative Eyewear also has announced receipt of notices of allowance on three smart eyewear design patent applications (patent application Nos. 29/806,204, 29/806/207, 29/806/209). Receipt of a Notice of Allowance indicates that claims in the patent applications are patentable, and Innovative Eyewear expects design patents to be issued from these three allowed applications after payment of issue fees. 

The two new patent applications are directed to the Innovative Eyewear's new Lucyd Armor smart safety glasses product, planned for introduction in mid-2024. The new utility patent application is directed to functional aspects of product, whilst the new design patent application is directed to the ornamental design of the product. The Company developed Lucyd Armor to meet the needs of industrial and medical safety glass users.

Innovative Eyewear CEO Harrison Gross said:

"Lucyd Armor smart safety glasses are a unique product and the culmination of rigorous in-house R&D, which we are thrilled to bring to the personal protective equipment market. We believe these products will deliver a cutting-edge experience to safety glass users around the world, making it easier than ever for industrial workers to communicate handsfree in a wide range of environments. We are commencing testing to ensure our smart safety eyewear meets US Occupational Safety and Health Administration Agency's  standards and expect to have the glasses available to consumers in the coming months. In addition to our direct-to-consumer channels such as Amazon and BestBuy.com, we look forward to launching Lucyd Armor in hardware and home improvement stores, developing an entirely new vertical for the company."

Safety glasses represent an important segment of both the personal protective equipment and eyewear markets, which is expected to grow to US$4.18bn by 2030[1].  Safety glasses are required equipment for a multitude of occupations, from construction sites and warehouses to operating rooms and research facilities around the globe. By combining the safety features of this class of eyewear with Innovative Eyewear's open-ear communication and AI features, the Company believes the product will make it easier and safer than ever for teams to collaborate in a variety of work environments. To support team communications, Innovative Eyewear's free Vyrb app for iOS and Android provides verbal VOIP chatrooms for up to 100 participants at a time.

Lucyd Armor smart safety glasses.

Courtesy of Innovative Eyewear Inc.

About Innovative Eyewear, Inc.

Innovative Eyewear is a developer and retailer of cutting-edge smart eyewear, under the Lucyd®, Nautica®, Eddie Bauer® and Reebok® brands. True to our mission to Upgrade Your Eyewear®, our Bluetooth audio glasses allow users to stay safely and ergonomically connected to their digital lives and are offered in hundreds of frame and lens combinations to meet the needs of the optical market. To learn more and explore our continuously evolving collection of smart eyewear, please visit www.lucyd.co.

Tekcapital currently owns 5,189,086 shares of Innovative Eyewear, Inc. (approximately 40%).

About Tekcapital plc

Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed discoveries that can enhance people's lives and provides a range of technology transfer services to help organisations evaluate and commercialise new technologies. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com.

LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release is for informational purposes only. The information herein does not constitute investment advice nor an offer to invest and may contain statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Innovative Eyewear, Inc., Lucyd or Tekcapital that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to," "anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, in material delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press releases. In addition, our representatives may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements may be based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Tekcapital, Innovative Eyewear Inc. or Lucyd's management. Please note that these are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not limited to those described in various disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of Innovative Eyewear Inc., Lucyd and/or Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. Other than as required by relevant regulation or law, neither Innovative Eyewear Inc, Lucyd nor Tekcapital intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.