As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2, 2025
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Florida |
|
84-2794274 |
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
|
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 630
North Miami, Florida, 33181
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
2021 Equity Incentive Plan
(Full Title of the Plan)
Harrison Gross
Chief Executive Officer
11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 630
North Miami, Florida, 33181
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
(786) 785-5178
(Telephone Number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Barry I. Grossman, Esq.
Sarah W. Williams, Esq.
Justin Grossman, Esq.
Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP
1345 Avenue of Americas, 11th Floor
New York, New York 10105
(212) 370-1300
Fax: (212) 370-7889
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer |
☐ |
Accelerated filer |
☐ |
Non-accelerated filer |
☑ |
Smaller reporting company |
☑ |
|
Emerging growth company |
☑ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
Explanatory Note
This Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), is being filed by Innovative Eyewear, Inc. (the “Registrant” or the “Company”), to register an additional 417,453 shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”) which may be issued and sold pursuant to our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) to our employees, consultants and “affiliates” as such term is defined un Rule 405 under the Securities Act, which shares may include “controlled securities” as such term is defined in General Instruction C to Form S-8, in connection with increases in the number of shares available for issuance under the 2021 Plan in 2025 pursuant to the evergreen provisions included therein.
This Registration Statement includes, pursuant to General Instruction E to Form S-8 and Rule 429 of the Securities Act, a re-offer prospectus in Part I (the “Reoffer Prospectus”). The Reoffer Prospectus may be utilized for reofferings and resales by certain executive officers and directors listed in the Reoffer Prospectus who may be deemed “affiliates” of the Company on a continuous or a delayed basis in the future of up to 417,453 shares of Common Stock. These shares constitute “control securities” or “restricted securities” which have been issued prior to or issuable after the filing of this Registration Statement. The Reoffer Prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the Registration Statement, certain items of which are contained in schedules and exhibits to the Registration Statement, as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. Statements contained in this Reoffer Prospectus as to the contents of any agreement, instrument or other document referred to are not necessarily complete. With respect to each such agreement, instrument or other document filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, we refer you to the exhibit for a more complete description of the matter involved, and each such statement shall be deemed qualified in its entirety by this reference.
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
Innovative Eyewear, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Registrant”, the “Company”, “us”, “our” or “we”), has prepared this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) in accordance with the requirements of Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), to register 417,453 shares of our common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Common Stock”), which may be offered and sold pursuant to the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”) in connection with an increase in the number of shares available for issuance under such plan in 2025 pursuant to the evergreen provision included therein and to file a prospectus, prepared in accordance with the requirements of Part I of Form S-3 and, pursuant to General Instruction C of Form S-8, to be used for reoffers and resales of Common Stock acquired by persons to be named therein upon the exercise of options and restricted stock awards granted under the 2021 Plan.
Pursuant to the Note to Part I on Form S-8, the documents containing the information specified in Part I of this Registration Statement will be sent or given to plan participants as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act. Such documents are not required to be filed, and are not filed, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 of the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Form S-8, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.
Reoffer Prospectus
INNOVATIVE EYEWEAR, INC.
417,453 Shares of Common Stock
This prospectus relates to the resale of up to 417,453 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.00001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of Innovative Eyewear, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”, “us”, “our” or “we”), which may be offered and sold from time to time by certain stockholders of the Company (the “Selling Stockholders”) who have acquired or will acquire such Shares in connection with the exercise of stock options granted, and with stock or other awards made, and with the purchase of stock under, the Company’s 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”).
The persons who are issued such Shares may include our directors, officers, employees and consultants, certain of whom may be considered our “affiliates”. Such persons may, but are not required to, sell the Shares they acquire pursuant to this prospectus. If any additional awards are issued to or shares are purchased by affiliates under the 2021 Plan, we will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) an update to this prospectus naming such person as a selling shareholder and indicating the number of shares such person is offering pursuant to the prospectus. See “Selling Stockholders” on page 11 of this prospectus. Our Common Stock is listed on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “LUCY.” On March 31, 2025, the closing price of the Common Stock on The NASDAQ Capital Market was $2.60 per share.
We will not receive any of the proceeds from sales of the Shares by any of the Selling Stockholders. The Shares may be offered from time to time by any or all of the Selling Stockholders through ordinary brokerage transactions, in negotiated transactions or in other transactions, at such prices as such Selling Stockholder may determine, which may relate to market prices prevailing at the time of sale or be a negotiated price. See “Plan of Distribution.” Sales may be made through brokers or to dealers, who are expected to receive customary commissions or discounts. We are paying all expenses of registration incurred in connection with this offering, but the Selling Stockholders will pay all brokerage commissions and other selling expenses.
Investing in our Common Stock is highly speculative and involves a significant degree of risk. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” on page 10 and in the documents incorporated herein by reference before you decide to buy our Common Stock.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this Reoffer Prospectus is April 2, 2025.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Please read this prospectus carefully. We incorporate by reference important information into this prospectus. You may obtain the information incorporated by reference without charge by following the instructions under “Where You Can Find More Information.” You should carefully read this prospectus as well as additional information described under “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference,” before deciding to invest in our securities. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations about us, the securities being offered pursuant to this prospectus or any other matter discussed in this prospectus, other than the information and representations contained in and incorporated by reference into this prospectus. If any other information or representation is given or made, such information or representation may not be relied upon as having been authorized by us.
The information contained in and incorporated by reference into this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common stock. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any distribution of securities in accordance with this prospectus shall, under any circumstances, imply that there has been no change in our affairs since the date of this prospectus. This prospectus will be updated and made available for delivery to the extent required by the federal securities laws.
We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any document that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.
This prospectus includes estimates, statistics and other industry data that we obtained from industry publications, research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties and publicly available information. Such data involves a number of assumptions and limitations and contains projections and estimates of the future performance of the industries in which we operate that are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. This prospectus also includes data based on our own internal estimates. We caution you not to give undue weight to such projections, assumptions and estimates.
This prospectus contains references to our trademarks and service marks and to those belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent possible under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by any other companies.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this prospectus may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about us and our industry, as well as statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Additionally, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. We intend the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws. Words such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions, as well as statements in future tense, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and may not be accurate indications of when such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information we have when those statements are made or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to:
|
- |
our lack of operating history; |
|
- |
our relationships with our current customers; |
|
- |
our expectations regarding the time during which we will be an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act; |
|
- |
our estimates regarding future revenue, expenses and needs for additional financing; |
|
- |
our ability to compete in our industry; |
|
- |
our ability to expand the number of retail stores that sell our products; |
|
- |
our ability to expand the production of our products; |
|
- |
the impact of governmental laws and regulation; |
|
- |
difficulties with certain vendors, suppliers and distributors we rely on or will rely on; |
|
- |
failure to maintain our corporate culture as we grow and changes in consumer recognition of our brand; |
|
- |
changes in senior management, loss of one or more key personnel or an inability to attract, hire, integrate and retain highly skilled personnel; |
|
- |
the ability of our product to perform in a safe and efficient manner; and |
|
- |
our ability to adapt and respond effectively to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and changing customer needs or requirements. |
The foregoing does not represent an exhaustive list of matters that may be covered by the forward-looking statements contained herein or risk factors that we are faced with. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve risks and uncertainties, and our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those set forth under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” elsewhere in this prospectus. The factors set forth under the “Risk Factors” section and other cautionary statements made in this prospectus should be read and understood as being applicable to all related forward-looking statements wherever they appear in this prospectus. The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus represent our judgment as of the date of this prospectus. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on such statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained above and throughout this prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights information about our company, this offering and information contained in greater detail in other parts of this prospectus or incorporated by reference into this prospectus from our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) listed in the section entitled “Information Incorporated by Reference.” Because it is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider before purchasing our securities in this offering and it is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction with, the more detailed information appearing elsewhere or incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should read the entire prospectus, the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and the information incorporated by reference into this prospectus in their entirety, including the “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before purchasing our securities in this offering.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, as used in this prospectus, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company,” “Innovative Eyewear” and “our business” refer to Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
Our Company
We develop and sell smart eyeglasses and sunglasses, which are designed to allow our customers to remain connected to their digital lives, while also offering prescription eyewear and sun protection. Founded and headquartered in Miami, Florida, we were initially organized as a Florida limited liability company effective August 15, 2019. We were founded by Lucyd Ltd., the inventor and licensor of the technology that our products are based upon, which is a portfolio company of Tekcapital Europe Ltd. (“Tekcapital”). Tekcapital is a U.K. based university intellectual property accelerator which builds portfolio companies around new technologies. On March 26, 2020, we converted from a Florida limited liability company into a Florida corporation.
Our smart eyewear products enable
the wearer to listen to music, take and make calls, and use voice assistants and ChatGPT to perform many common smartphone tasks hands-free.
Since the official launch of our first commercial product, our goal has been to create smart eyewear for all-day wear that looks like
and is priced similarly to designer eyewear, but is also lightweight and comfortable, and enables the wearer to remain connected to their
digital lives. Through our various product offerings as described below, we have created a smart upgrade for all four of the major types
of eyewear: prescription eyeglasses, ready-to-wear sunglasses,
safety glasses, and sport glasses.
| ● | Our
core product line, Lucyd Lyte® (which includes the Lyte XL units), was first introduced
in 2021 and continues to grow and expand with the ongoing addition of new styles and multiple
technological upgrades and advancements. The Company is continuously iterating and improving
its frame lineup, offering a mixture of “Lucyd icons” (styles that have consistently
performed well since the introduction of Lucyd Lyte) and new styles seasonally to align with
market trends and evolving consumer demand. We currently offer 13 different models under
the Lucyd Lyte collection. |
| ● | In
January 2024, we launched the Nautica® Powered by Lucyd smart eyewear collection in eight
different styles, along with various branded accessories including a power brick, cleaning
cloth, and a slipcase adorned with the iconic Nautica sail logo. This collection introduced
the Company’s first “global fit” style, which supports low nose bridge
customers. |
| ● | In
April 2024, we launched the Eddie Bauer® Powered by Lucyd smart eyewear collection in
four different styles, which showcases the first-to-market rimless smart eyewear design.
We believe the Eddie Bauer collection is the Company’s most premium product to date,
and features brushed titanium hardware, improved sound quality, and includes the patent-pending
Lucyd dock with every unit. |
| ● | In
October 2024, we launched the Lucyd Armor line, an ANSI-certified smart safety glass designed
for all-day wear. This new line provides all the powerful features of Lucyd eyewear in a
stylish safety wrap. |
| ● | We
plan to launch the Reebok® Powered by Lucyd sport smart sunglasses collection in the second quarter of 2025, and launch the
Reebok® Powered by Lucyd premium optical collection in the fourth quarter of 2025. |
Our current product offering
consists of 26 different models (soon to increase to 34 different styles with the pending launch of the Reebok® sport
collection), which offers a similar amount of style variety as many traditional eyewear collections. All styles are each available with
100+ different lens types, resulting in thousands of variations of products currently available. We believe our brand partnerships play
a significant role in our revenue growth by offering a more diversified product line that speaks to consumers from different demographics
(for example, Nautica® generally appeals to a more fashion-forward customer than Lucyd Lyte, and Eddie Bauer®
generally appeals to an older demographic than our other lines).
Some of the many things our
customers can do with their Lucyd smartglasses include:
|
1. |
“Send a voice message to (contact)”: this command begins the recording of an audio message to be sent to named contact. |
|
2. |
“Send a text to (contact)”: begins recording of a speech-to-text message to be sent by SMS to named contact. |
|
3. |
“Call (contact)”: speed-dials the named contact. |
|
4. |
“Send $___ to (contact)”: this command allows our user to send money to a contact via Venmo or Apple Pay. Follow the digital assistant’s prompts to confirm. |
|
5. |
“Check my messages”: this command reads out our user’s latest incoming text messages and offers a prompt to reply to each. Close out the digital assistant to end the readout. |
|
6. |
“Check my mailbox”: this command announces the number of unread emails, and reads them out with a prompt to continue after each one. In the prompt after each one, our customers can tell their digital assistant “Reply” and dictate an email response to the previous email. |
|
7. |
“Find (cuisine type) food nearby”: this command reads through a list of nearby restaurants and their ratings, and prompts our user for directions or to call after each one. |
|
8. |
“Call me an Uber”: this command prompts the user on which type of Uber ride they want, then asks to confirm to send a car to our user’s location. |
|
9. |
“What time is it?”: announces the current time. |
|
10. |
“Play (song/album/artist)”: this command begins playing the requested song, album, or artist via Apple Music. |
|
11. |
“Get me directions to (location)”: this command begins navigating on phone, with audible directions on glasses. |
|
12. |
“Take a memo”: this command begins recording a speech-to-text memo in Notes. Say “Read my Notes” to play back. |
Since the launch of Lucyd Lyte,
we witnessed growing interest and demand from customers throughout the United States and have sold thousands of our smart glasses. We
believe smart eyewear is a product category whose time has come, and we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on and help develop
this exciting new sector – where eyewear meets electronics in a user-friendly, mass market format, priced similarly to designer
eyewear.
The Company currently has
115 patents and applications, 44 of which were licensed from Lucyd Ltd., 25 assigned directly to Innovative Eyewear, and 46 licensed from
Ingeniospec.
In April 2023, we introduced
a major software upgrade for our glasses with the launch of the Lucyd app for iOS and Android. This free application enables the user
to converse with the extremely popular ChatGPT AI language model on our glasses, to instantly gain the benefit of one of the world’s
most powerful AI assistants in a hands-free ergonomic interface. The app deploys a powerful and unique Siri integration with the Open
AI API for ChatGPT, as well as a Bixby integration for Samsung phones, developed internally by the Company. The Company has filed a patent
application related to this software.
In the second quarter of 2024, we added a “Pro”
version of the app, which provides unlimited ChatGPT interactions and priority tech support for a modest monthly or annual fee. This is
a new revenue stream for our business, and represents our first diversification in product revenue from frames and lenses.
In July 2024, we launched a new feature called
“Walkie” for the Lucyd app, which enables thousands of users to join each other on walkie-talkie style communication channels.
This feature was designed with the new Lucyd Armor smart safety glass product in mind, to enable coworking teams to communicate freely
on smart eyewear. We plan to launch more new features for the Lucyd app in the future, such as an audio equalizer enabling the user to
optimize sound output for different types of content such as calls and podcasts, and touch control customizations.
We believe these developments make our Lucyd eyewear
perhaps the smartest smartglasses available today, and represent a significant marketing opportunity for our core smartglass
products.
A large part of our strategy
is not just to provide a leading smart eyewear platform, but to build a highly functional mobile software and interactive retail fixture
ecosystem to support user adoption and “stickiness” with our products. We have engineered and provided a variety of virtual
try-on kiosks, modular display systems, and interactive LCD fixtures to fit any retail environment. These devices introduce our products
to prospective retail customers and enable them to digitally try-on our line of smart glasses in a touch-free manner. Many of our retail
fixtures allow for customization to suit our retail store partners’ needs, and the most recently developed fixtures feature a proprietary
kiosk app we recently developed in-house. Our most advanced displays offer a complete Lucyd experience, including virtual try-on, social
media content, detailed product info and videos, and seamless music demos – which overall provide an immersive onboarding experience
for prospective customers in retail stores carrying our frames.
Our Market Opportunity
One of our key opportunities
is converting traditional eyeglass and sunglass wearers to smart eyewear consumers since these customers are already familiar with wearing
optical products. According to a 2021 report of the Vision Council, a non-profit trade association that serves member companies of the
optical industry, there are approximately 167 million adults wearing prescription eyeglasses in the United States.
According to the Vision Council,
the total addressable market for eyewear in the U.S. was $68 billion in 2024, growing at about 2.7% from 2023. The smartglass market size
was estimated at $1.9 billion worldwide in 2024, and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 27% from 2025 to 2030 according
to Grand View Research.
At the same time, the market
for digital assistants like Siri, Google Voice, Bixby and Alexa has grown rapidly worldwide in recent years, estimated at over 8 billion
voice assistant-enabled devices in use in 2024, doubling the amount from 2020 and indicating strong proliferation of voice-controlled
devices. We view the popularity of voice assistants as an important catalyst for the smart eyewear market, since hands-free access to
voice-based AI is a notable feature thereof and a key advantage of our products over standalone smartphone usage.
The common denominator among markets for the hearables and digital assistants is that they facilitate real-time access to digital data, whether it is through music, calls, navigational directions, or information, among other uses. The combination of hearables and digital assistants provides a transparent, ergonomic interface between the users and their digital lives. At Innovative Eyewear, we are dedicated to a touch-free interface and untethering our customers’ eyes from their smartphone screens, through our smart eyewear product.
The synergistic fusion of these three markets (eyewear, digital assistants, and hearables) enables, in our view, an opportunity to create a completely new experience of connected eyewear, which smoothly delivers the functionality of both optical glasses and headphones, eliminating the need for either on its own. Nevertheless, several orthodoxies of the eyewear industry still hold, namely: if you want to sell a lot of eyewear, we believe it should be attractive, stylish, comfortable (e.g., lightweight, which we believe to be approximately one ounce) and cost roughly the same as traditional eyewear. This is what we have sought to achieve, and in our view have accomplished with the introduction of Lucyd Lyte eyewear.
A key indicator of the potential future success of smart eyewear in the consumer market is the rise of smartwatches, which as early as 2018 have intermittently surpassed traditional wristwatches in unit sales in the United States. We believe that the similarities between smartwatches and smart eyewear compared to their traditional counterparts indicate that the future of eyewear will also be smart.
Our Business Strategy
When we initially organized Innovative Eyewear four years ago, there was, in our view, no attractive smart eyewear that addressed the basic consumer need for good-looking designer glasses that were stylish, comfortable, lightweight, provided the functionality of hearables, and priced around the same as regular glasses.
At the core of our strategy are the following principles:
|
1. |
Consumers prefer smart eyewear that looks and feels like traditional glasses and sunglasses; this is a key element in the design of all of our frames, and makes it easier for traditional eyewear users to switch to our products. |
|
2. |
For a smart eyewear line to achieve mass market penetration, it should cost a similar amount to traditional designer eyewear, especially while the category is still emerging and most consumers and not yet familiar with it. |
|
3. |
Smart eyewear must be user-friendly and have an interface that is easy to navigate by the wearer, even when their hands are wet or gloved. As such, we deploy highly tactile interfaces on our eyewear. |
|
4. |
The battery life of smart eyewear should be sufficient to support smart functionalities throughout the day without needing to be recharged mid-day. |
|
5. |
Rather than burdening our hardware with mechanical features such as cameras and microdisplays which may be unnecessary for many users, we instead leverage software platforms that can add functionality without increasing the weight or size of the frames. |
|
6. |
By adhering to the above principles, we can eliminate any “costs of switching” from traditional eyewear to smart eyewear, and build customer lifetime value by offering a more powerful combination of fashion, smart features, and vision correction and protection than available from other companies. |
All of our products are
designed in Miami, manufactured in China, and sold through e-commerce channels, including on our website (Lucyd.co), BestBuy.com,
DicksSportingGoods.com, Brookstone.com, Walmart.com, Target.com, and Amazon.com, and sold by over 300 optical and sporting goods
retailers. Additionally, we are pursuing online and in-store big box retailers, and in-store and online specialty retailers. Based
on the existing demand for our products, current distribution, and recently consummated supply agreements, we anticipate that our
products will be available in a significant number of new third-party retail locations in 2025.
We believe that people care about
what they wear on their faces, and because we understand that customers have diverse preferences about the shape, size, and design of
their eyewear, we aim to continuously introduce new models in an effort to offer a wide variety of designs. We continuously present new
models of eyewear to our network of followers to vote on those styles they find most appealing. We view this as community-approved design.
Competition
The smart eyewear industry in which we operate is competitive and subject to changes in practice. While we believe that our products are hybrid of eyeglasses and audio technology, which gives us a unique product that provides us with competitive advantages, we may face competition from many different entities now and in the future.
All of our competitors have substantially greater manufacturing, financial, research and development, personnel, and marketing resources than we do. As a result, although we believe our products are currently superior, our competitors may be able to develop superior products, and compete more aggressively and sustain their competitive advantage over a longer period of time than us. Our products may be rendered obsolete in the face of competition.
Our Competitive Strengths
A Unique Solution to a Common
Problem. While immensely useful, smartphones can present a safety hazard to motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists because smartphones
can distract people from the task or activity at hand. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, there were over 7,000 pedestrian
deaths in the U.S. in 2023, and experts believe smartphones were partially to blame. Recent data from the Governors Highway Safety Association
indicates that since 2010, the number of pedestrian deaths rose by 77%, while all other traffic deaths increased by 22% (Pedestrian Traffic
Fatalities by State: 2022 Preliminary Data – (https://www.ghsa.org/resources/Pedestrians24). We believe that the
distraction created by smartphones originates in two forms: (1) via headphones or earbuds, where the user is deprived of full audible
situational awareness; and (2) via the visual interface of the phone, which distracts the user completely from their surroundings. Lucyd
Lyte open-ear audio helps address this problem by having the speakers mounted at the temples (in the arms) of the glasses. There is nothing
in the ear canal and, as a result, individuals can better maintain situational awareness, such as hearing the traffic around them, as
well as nearby sounds. Many of our competitors have relatively bulky speakers enclosed within the temples, while Lucyd Lyte’s speakers
and temples are thin, which allows them to look similar to traditional designer glasses. Furthermore, through the quick and easy touch
controls on the Lucyd Lyte, the wearer can perform many tasks for which they would normally pull out their phone - thus our glasses help
untether the eyes of the user from their smartphones throughout the day and enable them to remain more visually vigilant and aware of
the traffic around them.
Affordable Price Point. Our Lucyd Lyte eyewear provides both optical-quality glasses and a Bluetooth headset together, at roughly the same price as a traditional pair of designer glasses, which is core to the disruptive potential of our product. Our Lucyd Lyte line of smart eyewear enables prescription and sunglass wearers to interact with digital assistants and social media without having to take their eyes off the road and are nearly hands-free, thereby improving the safety and convenience of taking calls, listening to music, and audibly accessing digital information on the go. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (“MSRP”) for Lucyd Lyte 2.0 eyewear starts at $149, with advanced options and customizations available at higher price points, which are at the discretion of the customer. A basic prescription lens upgrade is offered for $40. By comparison, most of our U.S.-based competitors offer products that are more expensive, starting at approximately $249 or higher, with higher costs to add prescriptions.
Quality. All of our frames can be outfitted in-house or by optical resellers with any combination of prescription, sunglass, reading, and blue light lens formats. Our frame fronts are made with what we believe are high quality optical materials to ensure easy lens fitting by any optician.
Customizable Product Offering. There are 100+ lens types available for Lucyd Lyte, making it the most customizable smart eyewear in the world. Innovative Eyewear has a partnership with a high-quality optical lab in Boston to produce prescription and custom lenses for our frames quickly and affordably. Our contract with a third-party optical lab also allows us to offer direct prescription fulfillment to our customers.
Comfort. At just 1.0 - 1.5 ounces, our eyewear has a feather-light fit, suitable for all day vision correction or sun protection (traditional glasses weigh about one ounce). This is especially important while on the go. Our 1.0 ounce titanium aviators are among the lightest smart eyewear ever made.
Long Battery Life. At 12 hours of playback per charge, our current product offering of Lucyd eyewear outpaces most, if not all, of the competition on battery life.
Capital Light Business Model. All of our products are sold through multiple e-commerce channels, including on our website (Lucyd.co), BestBuy.com, DicksSportingGoods.com, and Amazon.com, and are distributed through optical or other retailers (such as, but not limited to, Metro Optics Eyewear and Marca Eyewear Group, Inc.). We believe this capital light approach is highly scalable and efficient in the deployment of resources. We view “capital light” as being more efficient by obviating the need to build factories and retail stores, while partnering with existing companies in both of these groups.
Multiple-Channel Approach. We sell our products both through multiple online channels and multiple categories of brick-and-mortar retail stores. We believe this multi-channel approach provides us with an advantage against our competitors who sell in a narrower selection of channels.
Experienced Management Team. We have an experienced board of directors with more than 100 years of combined experience in the eyewear industry, and a management team with substantial experience in software and electronics engineering and operating eyewear and technology companies.
Corporate Information
We were initially organized as a limited liability company under the laws of the State of Florida on August 15, 2019. We converted the Company from a Florida limited liability company into a Florida corporation on March 25, 2020. Our principal executive office is located at 11900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 630, North Miami, FL, 33181, and our phone number is (786) 785-5178. We maintain a website at www.lucyd.co. Following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, we intend to announce material information to the public through filings with the SEC, the investor relations page of our website, as well as press releases, public conference calls, and investor conferences.
The reference to our website is intended to be an inactive textual reference only. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not part of this prospectus and investors should not rely on such information in deciding whether to purchase shares of our common stock.
Our “Lucyd” logo, the Lucyd Lyte name and the slogan “Upgrade your Eyewear” and our other registered or common law trademarks mentioned in this prospectus are the exclusive licensed property of Innovative Eyewear Inc. Other trade names, trademarks, and service used in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners.
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company
We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). As a result, we are permitted to, and intend to, rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are otherwise applicable to public companies. These provisions include, but are not limited to:
|
- |
being permitted to present only two years of audited financial statements and only two years of related “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this prospectus; |
|
- |
not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act); |
|
- |
reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and |
|
- |
exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. |
In addition, an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This provision allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of some accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this extended transition period. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest to occur of: (i) our reporting $1.235 billion or more in annual gross revenues; (ii) the end of fiscal year 2028; (iii) our issuance, in a three year period, of more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt; and (iv) the end of the fiscal year in which the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.
We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations and may elect to take advantage of other reduced reporting requirements in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to our stockholders may be different than the information you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests.
To the extent that we continue to qualify as a “smaller reporting company,” as such term is defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, after we cease to qualify as an “emerging growth company,” certain of the exemptions available to us as an “emerging growth company” may continue to be available to us as a smaller reporting company, including: (1) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) scaled executive compensation disclosures; and (3) the ability to provide only two years of audited financial statements, instead of three years.
The Offering
Outstanding Common Stock |
|
As of March 31, 2025, there were 2,452,632 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. |
|
|
|
Common Stock Offered |
|
Up to 417,453 shares of common stock for sale by the selling stockholders for their own account. |
|
|
|
Selling Stockholders |
|
The selling stockholders are set forth in the Section entitled “Selling Stockholders” of this reoffer prospectus on page 11. |
|
|
|
Proceeds |
|
We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of our common stock by the selling stockholders. We would, however, receive proceeds upon the exercise of the stock options by those who receive or received options under the 2021 Plan and exercise such options for cash. Any cash proceeds will be used by us for general corporate purposes. |
|
|
|
Risk Factors |
|
The securities offered hereby involve a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” on page 10 of this prospectus |
|
|
|
Nasdaq Symbol |
|
“LUCY” |
Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described in the section captioned “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC on March 24, 2025, and our other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, together with other information in this prospectus and the information incorporated by reference herein. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow could suffer materially. In such an event, the trading price of our shares of Common Stock could decline, and you might lose all or part of your investment.
SELLING STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth (a) the name and position or positions with the Company of each Selling Stockholder; (b) the aggregate of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock held by each Selling Stockholder as of the date of this prospectus and (ii) the number of shares issuable upon exercise of options granted to each Selling Stockholder under the 2021 Plan that are being registered pursuant to this Registration Statement for resale by each Selling Stockholder as of the date of this prospectus; (c) the number of shares of Common Stock that each Selling Stockholder may offer for sale from time to time pursuant to this prospectus, whether or not such Selling Stockholder has a present intention to do so; and (d) the number of shares of Common Stock to be beneficially owned by each Selling Stockholder following the sale of all shares that may be so offered pursuant to this prospectus, assuming no other change in ownership of Common Stock by such Selling Stockholder after the date of this prospectus. Unless otherwise indicated, beneficial ownership is direct and the person indicated has sole voting and investment power.
To our knowledge, none of our officers and directors have a present intention to offer shares of Common stock for sale, although they retain the right to do so.
Inclusion of an individual’s name in the table below does not constitute an admission that such individual is an “affiliate” of the Company.
Any changed information will be set forth in an amendment to the Registration Statement or supplement to this reoffer prospectus, to the extent required by law.
Selling Stockholder |
|
Principal Position
with the Company(1) |
|
Shares Owned
Prior to Resale(2) |
|
|
Number of
Shares
Offered
for Resale(3) |
|
|
Shares Beneficially
Owned After Resale(4) |
|
|
|
Number |
|
|
Percent |
|
|
|
|
Number |
|
|
Percent |
|
Harrison Gross(5) | |
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board | |
| 97,100 | | |
| 3.81 | % | |
| 57,600 | | |
| 39,500 | | |
| 1.55 | % |
Konrad Dabrowski(6) | |
Co-Chief Financial Officer | |
| 58,900 | | |
| 2.35 | % | |
| 50,400 | | |
| 8,500 | | |
| * | |
David Eric Cohen.(7) | |
Chief Technology Officer | |
| 48,534 | | |
| 1.94 | % | |
| 43,200 | | |
| 5,334 | | |
| * | |
Oswald Gayle(8) | |
Co-Chief Financial Officer | |
| 38,566 | | |
| 1.55 | % | |
| 32,400 | | |
| 6,166 | | |
| * | |
Jaoquin Abondano(9) | |
Chief Operating Officer | |
| 33,134 | | |
| 1.33 | % | |
| 28,800 | | |
| 4,334 | | |
| * | |
|
(1) |
All positions described are with the Company, unless otherwise indicated. |
|
(2) |
Represents common stock owned on or about the date hereof by the Selling Stockholders and shares of common stock that are issued or to be issued, or which may be acquired upon the exercise of stock options issued or to be issued, or vesting of restricted stock awards issued or to be issued, pursuant to the 2021 Plan as of April 2, 2025. |
|
(3) |
Represents only shares of common stock that are issued or to be issued, or which may be acquired upon the vesting of restricted stock
awards issued or to be issued, pursuant to the 2021 Plan. These shares constitute “control securities” as such term is defined
in General Instruction C to Form S-8. |
|
(4) |
Percentage is computed with reference to 2,452,632 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of March 31, 2025 and assumes for each Selling Stockholder the sale of all shares offered by that particular Selling Stockholder under the Prospectus. |
|
(5) |
The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Gross include 57,600 shares of common stock issued pursuant to the 2021 Plan. The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Gross will vest over a three-year period, with 1/6 of his registered shares vesting on April 2, 2025, August 19, 2025, April 2, 2026, August 19, 2026, April 2, 2027, and August 19, 2027. |
|
(6) |
The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Dabrowski include 50,400 shares of common stock issued pursuant to the 2021 Plan. The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Dabrowski will vest over a three-year period, with 1/6 of his registered shares vesting on April 2, 2025, August 19, 2025, April 2, 2026, August 19, 2026, April 2, 2027, and August 19, 2027. |
|
(7) |
The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Cohen include 43,200 shares of common stock issued pursuant to the 2021 Plan. The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Cohen will vest over a three-year period, with 1/6 of his registered shares vesting on April 2, 2025, August 19, 2025, April 2, 2026, August 19, 2026, April 2, 2027, and August 19, 2027. |
|
(8) |
The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Gayle include 32,400 shares of common stock issued pursuant to the 2021 Plan. The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Gayle will vest over a three-year period, with 1/6 of his registered shares vesting on April 2, 2025, August 19, 2025, April 2, 2026, August 19, 2026, April 2, 2027, and August 19, 2027. |
|
(9) |
The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Abondano include 28,800 shares of common stock issued pursuant to the 2021 Plan. The securities to be registered for resale by Mr. Abondano will vest over a three-year period, with 1/6 of his registered shares vesting on April 2, 2025, August 19, 2025, April 2, 2026, August 19, 2026, April 2, 2027, and August 19, 2027. |
The Company may supplement this prospectus from time to time as required by the rules of the Commission to include certain information concerning the security ownership of the Selling Stockholders or any new Selling Stockholders, the number of securities offered for resale and the position, office or other material relationship which a Selling Stockholder has had within the past three years with the Company or any of its predecessors or affiliates.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We will not receive any proceeds from the resale of our Common Stock by the Selling Stockholders pursuant to this prospectus. However, we will receive the exercise price of any Common Stock issued to the Selling Stockholders upon cash exercise by them of their options. We would expect to use these proceeds, if any, for general working capital purposes. We have agreed to pay the expenses of registration of these shares.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
In this section of the prospectus, the term “Selling Stockholder” means and includes:
|
- |
the persons identified in the table above as the Selling Stockholders; |
|
- |
those persons whose identities are not known as of the date hereof but may in the future be eligible to receive options under the 2021 Plan; and |
|
- |
any of the donees, pledgees, distributees, transferees or other successors in interest of those persons referenced above who may: (a) receive any of the shares of our common stock offered hereby after the date of this prospectus and (b) offer or sell those shares hereunder. |
The shares of our Common Stock offered by this prospectus may be sold from time to time directly by the Selling Stockholders. Alternatively, the Selling Stockholders may from time to time offer such shares through underwriters, brokers, dealers, agents or other intermediaries. The Selling Stockholders as of the date of this prospectus have advised us that there were no underwriting or distribution arrangements entered into with respect to the Common Stock offered hereby. The distribution of the Common Stock by the Selling Stockholders may be effected: in one or more transactions that may take place on The NASDAQ Capital Market (including one or more block transaction) through customary brokerage channels, either through brokers acting as agents for the Selling Stockholders, or through market makers, dealers or underwriters acting as principals who may resell these shares on The NASDAQ Capital Market; in privately-negotiated sales; by a combination of such methods; or by other means. These transactions may be effected at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at other negotiated prices. Usual and customary or specifically negotiated brokerage fees or commissions may be paid by the Selling Stockholders in connection with sales of our Common Stock.
The Selling Stockholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers in connection with distributions of the shares or otherwise. In such transactions, broker-dealers may engage in short sales of the shares of our Common Stock in the course of hedging the positions they assume with the Selling Stockholders. The Selling Stockholders also may sell shares short and redeliver the shares to close out such short positions. The Selling Stockholders may enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers which require the delivery to the broker-dealer of shares of our Common Stock. The broker-dealer may then resell or otherwise transfer such shares of Common Stock pursuant to this prospectus.
The Selling Stockholders also may lend or pledge shares of our Common Stock to a broker-dealer. The broker-dealer may sell the shares of Common Stock so lent, or upon a default the broker-dealer may sell the pledged shares of Common Stock pursuant to this prospectus. Any securities covered by this prospectus which qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 may be sold under Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this prospectus.
The Selling Stockholders have advised us that they have not entered into any agreements, understandings or arrangements with any underwriters or broker-dealers regarding the sale of their securities. There is no underwriter or coordinating broker acting in connection with the proposed sale of shares of Common Stock the Selling Stockholders.
Although the shares of Common Stock covered by this prospectus are not currently being underwritten, the Selling Stockholders or their underwriters, brokers, dealers or other agents or other intermediaries, if any, that may participate with the selling security holders in any offering or distribution of Common Stock may be deemed “underwriters” within the meaning of the Securities Act and any profits realized or commissions received by them may be deemed underwriting compensation thereunder.
Under applicable rules and regulations under the Exchange Act, any person engaged in a distribution of shares of the Common Stock offered hereby may not simultaneously engage in market making activities with respect to the Common Stock for a period of up to five days preceding such distribution. The Selling Stockholders will be subject to the applicable provisions of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, including without limitation Regulation M, which provisions may limit the timing of purchases and sales by the Selling Stockholders.
In order to comply with certain state securities or blue sky laws and regulations, if applicable, the Common Stock offered hereby will be sold in such jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In certain states, the Common Stock may not be sold unless they are registered or qualified for sale in such state, or unless an exemption from registration or qualification is available and is obtained.
We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of the Common Stock offered hereby. However, the Selling Stockholders will bear any brokerage or underwriting commissions and similar selling expenses, if any, attributable to the sale of the shares of Common Stock offered pursuant to this prospectus. We have agreed to indemnify the Selling Stockholders against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments to which any of those security holders may be required to make in respect thereof.
There can be no assurance that the Selling Stockholders will sell any or all of the securities offered by them hereby.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities being offered herein has been passed upon for us by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, New York, New York.
Experts
Cherry Bekaert LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in this registration statement. Our consolidated financial statements are incorporated by reference in this prospectus and in the registration statement in reliance on Cherry Bekaert LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
The Company is subject to the information requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and, in accordance therewith, files reports, proxy statements and other information with the Commission. We are required to file electronic versions of those materials with the Commission through the Commission’s EDGAR system. The Commission maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the Commission. You can read and copy the reports, proxy statements and other information filed by the Company with the Commission at such Internet site.
This prospectus constitutes part of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed on the date hereof (herein, together with all amendments and exhibits, referred to as the “Registration Statement”) by the Company with the Commission under the Securities Act. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the Registration Statement, certain parts of which we have omitted, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commission. You should refer to the full Registration Statement for further information with respect to the Company and our Common Stock.
Statements contained herein concerning the provisions of any contract, agreement or other document are not necessarily complete, and in each instance reference is made to the copy of such contract, agreement or other document filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or otherwise filed with the Commission. Each such statement is qualified in its entirety by such reference. Copies of the Registration Statement together with exhibits may be inspected at the offices of the Commission as indicated above without charge and copies thereof may be obtained therefrom upon payment of a prescribed fee.
No person is authorized to give any information or to make any representations, other than those contained in this prospectus, in connection with the offering described herein, and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the Company or any Selling Stockholder. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such offer, solicitation or sale. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor any sale made hereunder shall under any circumstances create an implication that the information contained herein is correct as of any time subsequent to the date hereto.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this document, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information.
We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings made with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act made subsequent to the date of this prospectus until the termination of the offering of the securities described in this prospectus (other than information in such filings that was “furnished,” under applicable SEC rules, rather than “filed”). We incorporate by reference the following documents or information that we have filed with the SEC:
|
- |
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 24, 2025; |
As a smaller reporting company, we also are incorporating by reference any future information filed (rather than furnished) by us with the SEC under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and before the effective date of the registration statement and after the date of this prospectus until the termination of the offering. Any statements contained in a previously filed document incorporated by reference into this prospectus is deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus, or in a subsequently filed document also incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes that statement.
We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, at no cost, upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the reports or documents that have been incorporated by reference in the prospectus contained in the registration statement but not delivered with the prospectus. You should direct requests for documents to:
Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
11900 Biscayne Blvd.
Suite 630
North Miami, FL 33181
Attention: Harrison Gross, CEO
This prospectus is part of a registration statement we filed with the SEC. That registration statement and the exhibits filed along with the registration statement contain more information about us and the shares in this offering. Because information about documents referred to in this prospectus is not always complete, you should read the full documents which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement. You may read and copy the full registration statement and its exhibits at the SEC’s website.
You may also access these documents, free of charge, on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or on our website at www.lucyd.co. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference in, and is not part of, this prospectus.
You should rely only on the information contained in this document. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different. This document may only be used where it is legal to sell these securities. The information in this document may only be accurate on the date of this document.
Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known or that are currently deemed immaterial may also impair our business operations. The risks and uncertainties described in this document and other risks and uncertainties which we may face in the future will have a greater impact on those who purchase our common stock. These purchasers will purchase our common stock at the market price or at a privately negotiated price and will run the risk of losing their entire investment.
INNOVATIVE EYEWEAR, INC.
417,453 Shares of
Common Stock
REOFFER PROSPECTUS
April 2, 2025
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 3. |
Incorporation of Documents by Reference. |
Included in the reoffer prospectus which is part of this registration statement
Item 4. |
Description of Securities. |
Not applicable.
Item 5. |
Interests of Named Experts and Counsel. |
The validity of the shares of Common Stock offered hereby will be passed upon by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, counsel to the Registrant.
Item 6. |
Indemnification of Officers and Directors. |
The Florida Business Corporation Act authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate, subject to certain conditions, the personal liability of directors to corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for breach of their fiduciary duties. Our second amended and restated articles of incorporation provides that all our directors, officers, employees and agents shall be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted under the Florida Business Corporation Act. Our second amended and restated bylaws provide for indemnification of our officers, directors and others who become a party to an action on our behalf by us to the fullest extent not prohibited under the Florida Business Corporation Act.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of our counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 7. |
Exemption from Registration Claimed. |
Not applicable.
The Registrant has filed the exhibits listed on the accompanying Exhibit Index of this Registration Statement.
EXHIBIT INDEX
A. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement; and
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement.
provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
B. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Miami, State of Florida, on April 2, 2025.
|
Innovative Eyewear, Inc. |
|
|
|
|
By: |
/s/ Harrison Gross |
|
|
Name: |
Harrison Gross |
|
|
Title: |
Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below does hereby constitute and appoint Harrison Gross, and each of them, with full power of substitution, such person’s true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents for such person, with full power and authority to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorneys and agents, and any one of them, determine may be necessary or advisable or required to enable said corporation to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any rules or regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with this Registration Statement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing power and authority, the powers granted include the power and authority to sign the names of the undersigned officers and directors in the capacities indicated below to this Registration Statement, to any and all amendments, both pre-effective and post-effective, and supplements to this Registration Statement, and to any and all instruments or documents filed as part of or in conjunction with this Registration Statement or amendments or supplements thereof, and each of the undersigned hereby ratifies and confirms that all said attorneys and agents, or any one of them, shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This Power of Attorney may be signed in several counterparts.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
|
Title |
|
Date |
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Harrison Gross |
|
Chief Executive Officer and Director |
|
April 2, 2025 |
Harrison Gross |
|
(Principal Executive Officer) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Konraad Dabrowski |
|
Co- Chief Financial Officer |
|
April 2, 2025 |
Konrad Dabrowski |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Oswald Gayle |
|
Co- Chief Financial Officer |
|
April 2, 2025 |
Oswald Gayle |
|
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Kristen McLaughlin |
|
Director |
|
April 2, 2025 |
Kristen McLaughlin |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Louis Castro |
|
Director |
|
April 2, 2025 |
Louis Castro |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Olivia C. Bartlett |
|
Director |
|
April 2, 2025 |
Olivia C. Bartlett |
|
|
|
|
Exhibit 4.1
INNOVATIVE EYEWEAR, INC. EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
1. Purpose; Eligibility.
1.1 General Purpose. The name of this plan is the Innovative Eyewear, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). The purposes of the Plan are to (a) enable Innovative Eyewear, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), and any Affiliate to attract and retain the types of Employees, Consultants and Directors who will contribute to the Company’s long range success; (b) provide incentives that align the interests of Employees, Consultants and Directors with those of the shareholders of the Company; and (c) promote the success of the Company’s business.
1.2 Eligible Award Recipients. The persons eligible to receive Awards are the Employees, Consultants and Directors of the Company and its Affiliates and such other individuals designated by the Committee who are reasonably expected to become Employees, Consultants and Directors after the receipt of Awards.
1.3 Available Awards. Awards that may be granted under the Plan include: (a) Incentive Stock Options, (b) Non-qualified Stock Options, (c) Stock Appreciation Rights, (d) Restricted Awards, (e) Performance Share Awards, (f) Cash Awards and (g) Other Equity-Based Awards.
2. Definitions.
“Affiliate” means a corporation or other entity that, directly or through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with, the Company.
“Applicable Laws” means the requirements related to or implicated by the administration of the Plan under applicable state corporate law, United States federal and state securities laws, the Code, and the applicable laws of any foreign country or jurisdiction where Awards are granted under the Plan.
“Award” means any right granted under the Plan, including an Incentive Stock Option, a Non-qualified Stock Option, a Restricted Stock Award, a Restricted Stock Unit Award or a Cash Award.
“Award Agreement” means a written agreement, contract, certificate or other instrument or document evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Award granted under the Plan which may, in the discretion of the Company, be transmitted electronically to any Participant. Each Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
“Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company, as constituted at any time.
“Cash Award” means an Award denominated in cash that is granted under Section 11 of the Plan.
“Cause” means:
With respect to any Employee or Consultant, unless the applicable Award Agreement states otherwise:
(a) If the Employee or Consultant is a party to an employment or service agreement with the Company or its Affiliates and such agreement provides for a definition of Cause, the definition contained therein; or
(b) If no such agreement exists, or if such agreement does not define Cause: (i) the commission of, or plea of guilty or no contest to, a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude or the commission of any other act involving willful malfeasance or material fiduciary breach with respect to the Company or an Affiliate; (ii) conduct that brings or is reasonably likely to bring the Company or an Affiliate negative publicity or into public disgrace, embarrassment, or disrepute; (iii) gross negligence or willful misconduct with respect to the Company or an Affiliate; (iv) material violation of state or federal securities laws; or (v) material violation of the Company’s written policies or codes of conduct, including written policies related to discrimination, harassment, performance of illegal or unethical activities, and ethical misconduct.
With respect to any Director, unless the applicable Award Agreement states otherwise, a determination by a majority of the disinterested Board members that the Director has engaged in any of the following:
(a) malfeasance in office;
(b) gross misconduct or neglect;
(c) false or fraudulent misrepresentation inducing the director’s appointment;
(d) willful conversion of corporate funds; or
(e) repeated failure to participate in Board meetings on a regular basis despite having received proper notice of the meetings in advance.
The Committee, in its absolute discretion, shall determine the effect of all matters and questions relating to whether a Participant has been discharged for Cause.
“Change in Control”
(a) The acquisition (whether by purchase, merger, consolidation, combination or other similar transaction) by any Person of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of more than 50% (on a fully diluted basis) of the combined voting power of the then outstanding voting securities of the Company; provided, however, that for purposes of this Plan, the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control: (A) any acquisition by the Company or any Affiliate, (B) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan sponsored or maintained by the Company or any subsidiary, (C) in respect of an Award held by a particular Participant, any acquisition by the Participant or any group of persons including the Participant (or any entity controlled by the Participant or any group of persons including the Participant); or (D) the acquisition of securities pursuant to an offer made to the general public through a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; or
(b) The sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company to any Person other than an Affiliate.
“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it may be amended from time to time. Any reference to a section of the Code shall be deemed to include a reference to any regulations promulgated thereunder.
“Committee” means a committee of one or more members of the Board appointed by the Board to administer the Plan in accordance with Section 3.4 and Section 3.5.
“Common Stock” means the common stock, $0.00001 par value per share, of the Company, or such other securities of the Company as may be designated by the Committee from time to time in substitution thereof.
“Company” means Innovative Eyewear, Inc., a Florida corporation, and any successor thereto.
“Consultant” means any individual who is engaged by the Company or any Affiliate to render consulting or advisory services, whether or not compensated for such services.
“Continuous Service” means that the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, whether as an Employee, Consultant or Director, is not interrupted or terminated. The Participant’s Continuous Service shall not be deemed to have terminated merely because of a change in the capacity in which the Participant renders service to the Company or an Affiliate as an Employee, Consultant or Director or a change in the entity for which the Participant renders such service, provided that there is no interruption or termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service; provided further that if any Award is subject to Section 409A of the Code, this sentence shall only be given effect to the extent consistent with Section 409A of the Code. For example, a change in status from an Employee of the Company to a Director of an Affiliate will not constitute an interruption of Continuous Service. The Committee or its delegate, in its sole discretion, may determine whether Continuous Service shall be considered interrupted in the case of any leave of absence approved by that party, including sick leave, military leave or any other personal or family leave of absence. The Committee or its delegate, in its sole discretion, may determine whether a Company transaction, such as a sale or spin-off of a division or subsidiary that employs a Participant, shall be deemed to result in a termination of Continuous Service for purposes of affected Awards, and such decision shall be final, conclusive and binding.
“Detrimental Activity” means any of the following: (i) unauthorized disclosure of any confidential or proprietary information of the Company or any of its Affiliates; (ii) any activity that would be grounds to terminate the Participant’s employment or service with the Company or any of its subsidiaries for Cause; (iii) the breach of any non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disparagement or other agreement containing restrictive covenants, with the Company or its Affiliates; (iv) fraud or conduct contributing to any financial restatements or irregularities, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion; or (v) any other conduct or act determined to be materially injurious, detrimental or prejudicial to any interest of the Company or any of its Affiliates, as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.
“Director” means a member of the Board.
“Disability” means, unless the applicable Award Agreement says otherwise, that the Participant is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment; provided, however, for purposes of determining the term of an Incentive Stock Option pursuant to Section 6.9 hereof, the term Disability shall have the meaning ascribed to it under Section 22(e)(3) of the Code. The determination of whether an individual has a Disability shall be determined under procedures established by the Committee. Except in situations where the Committee is determining Disability for purposes of the term of an Incentive Stock Option pursuant to Section 6.9 hereof within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, the Committee may rely on any determination that a Participant is disabled for purposes of benefits under any long-term disability plan maintained by the Company or any Affiliate in which a Participant participates.
“Disqualifying Disposition” has the meaning set forth in Section 16.12.
“Effective Date” shall mean the date as of which this Plan is adopted by the Board.
“Employee” means any person, including an officer or Director, employed by the Company or an Affiliate; provided, that, for purposes of determining eligibility to receive Incentive Stock Options, an Employee shall mean an employee of the Company or a parent or subsidiary corporation within the meaning of Section 424 of the Code. Mere service as a Director or payment of a director’s fee by the Company or an Affiliate shall not be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company or an Affiliate.
“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
“Fair Market Value” means, on a given date, (i) if there is a public market for the shares of Common Stock on such date, the closing price of the shares as reported on such date on the principal national securities exchange on which the shares are listed or, if no sales of shares have been reported on any national securities exchange, then the immediately preceding date on which sales of the shares have been so reported or quoted, and (ii) if there is no public market for the shares of Common Stock on such date, then the fair market value shall be determined by the Committee in good faith after taking into consideration all factors which it deems appropriate, including, without limitation, Sections 409A and 422 of the Code.
“Grant Date” means the date on which the Committee adopts a resolution, or takes other appropriate action, expressly granting an Award to a Participant that specifies the key terms and conditions of the Award or, if a later date is set forth in such resolution, then such date as is set forth in such resolution.
“Incentive Stock Option” means an Option that is designated by the Committee as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code and that meets the requirements set out in the Plan.
“Non-qualified Stock Option” means an Option that by its terms does not qualify or is not intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.
“Option” means an Incentive Stock Option or a Non-qualified Stock Option granted pursuant to the Plan.
“Optionholder” means a person to whom an Option is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Option.
“Option Exercise Price” means the price at which a share of Common Stock may be purchased upon the exercise of an Option.
“Participant” means an eligible person to whom an Award is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Award.
“Performance Goals” means, for a Performance Period, the one or more goals established by the Committee for the Performance Period based upon business criteria or other performance measures determined by the Committee in its discretion.
“Performance Period” means the one or more periods of time as the Committee may select, over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to and the payment of a Performance Share Award.
“Performance Share Award” means any Award granted pursuant to Section 7.2 hereof.
“Performance Share” means the grant of a right to receive a number of actual shares of Common Stock or share units based upon the performance of the Company during a Performance Period, as determined by the Committee.
“Permitted Transferee” means: (a) a member of the Optionholder’s immediate family (child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, former spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, including adoptive relationships), any person sharing the Optionholder’s household (other than a tenant or employee), a trust in which these persons have more than 50% of the beneficial interest, a foundation in which these persons (or the Optionholder) control the management of assets, and any other entity in which these persons (or the Optionholder) own more than 50% of the voting interests; (b) third parties designated by the Committee in connection with a program established and approved by the Committee pursuant to which Participants may receive a cash payment or other consideration in consideration for the transfer of a Non-qualified Stock Option; and (c) such other transferees as may be permitted by the Committee in its sole discretion; provided that, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, no person shall be a Permitted Transferee unless he or she executes and becomes a party to the Shareholders’ Agreement.
“Person” means any individual, entity or group (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act).
“Plan” means this Innovative Eyewear, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan, as amended and/or amended and restated from time to time.
“Restricted Award” means any Award granted pursuant to Section 7.
“Restricted Period” means the period during which the transfer of Restricted Stock or the settlement of Restricted Stock Units is subject to restrictions and a substantial risk of forfeiture. Such restrictions may be based on the passage of time, Performance Goals, or the occurrence of other events as determined by the Committee.
“Restricted Stock” means Common Stock, subject to certain specified restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant provide Continuous Service for a specified period of time) granted under Section 7 of the Plan.
“Restricted Stock Unit” means an unfunded and unsecured promise to deliver shares of Common Stock, cash, other securities or other property, subject to certain restrictions (including, without limitation, a requirement that the Participant provide Continuous Service for a specified period of time) granted under Section 7 of the Plan.
“Stock Appreciation Right” means the right pursuant to an Award granted under Section 7 to receive, upon exercise, an amount payable in cash or shares equal to the number of shares subject to the Stock Appreciation Right that is being exercised multiplied by the excess of (a) the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the date the Award is exercised, over (b) the exercise price specified in the Stock Appreciation Right Award Agreement.
“Ten Percent Shareholder” means a person who owns (or is deemed to own pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or of any of its Affiliates.
3. Administration.
3.1 Authority of Committee. The Plan shall be administered by the Committee or, in the Board’s sole discretion, by the Board. Subject to the terms of the Plan, the Committee’s charter and Applicable Laws, and in addition to other express powers and authorization conferred by the Plan, the Committee shall have the authority:
(a) to construe and interpret the Plan and apply its provisions;
(b) to promulgate, amend, and rescind rules and regulations relating to the administration of the Plan;
(c) to authorize any person to execute, on behalf of the Company, any instrument required to carry out the purposes of the Plan;
(d) to delegate its authority to one or more officers of the Company;
(e) to determine when Awards are to be granted under the Plan and the applicable Grant Date;
(f) from time to time to select, subject to the limitations set forth in this Plan, those Participants to whom Awards shall be granted;
(g) to determine the number of shares of Common Stock to be made subject to each Award;
(h) to determine whether each Option is to be an Incentive Stock Option or a Non-Qualified Stock Option;
(i) to prescribe the terms and conditions of each Award, including, without limitation, the exercise price and medium of payment and vesting provisions, and to specify the provisions of the Award Agreement relating to such grant;
(j) to determine the target number of Performance Shares to be granted pursuant to a Performance Share Award, the performance measures that will be used to establish the Performance Goals, the Performance Period(s) and the number of Performance Shares earned by a Participant;
(k) to amend any outstanding Awards, including for the purpose of modifying the time or manner of vesting, or the term of any outstanding Award; provided, however, that if any such amendment impairs a Participant’s rights or increases a Participant’s obligations under his or her Award or creates or increases a Participant’s federal income tax liability with respect to an Award, such amendment shall also be subject to the Participant’s consent;
(l) to determine the duration and purpose of leaves of absences which may be granted to a Participant without constituting termination of their employment for purposes of the Plan, which periods shall be no shorter than the periods generally applicable to Employees under the Company’s employment policies;
(m) to make decisions with respect to outstanding Awards that may become necessary upon a change in corporate control or an event that triggers anti-dilution adjustments;
(n) to interpret, administer, reconcile any inconsistency in, correct any defect in and/or supply any omission in the Plan and any instrument or agreement relating to, or Award granted under, the Plan; and
(o) to exercise discretion to make any and all other determinations which it determines to be necessary or advisable for the administration of the Plan.
3.2 Acquisitions and Other Transactions. The Committee may, from time to time, assume outstanding awards granted by another entity, whether in connection with an acquisition of such other entity or otherwise, by either (i) granting an Award under the Plan in replacement of or in substitution for the award assumed by the Company, or (ii) treating the assumed award as if it had been granted under the Plan if the terms of such assumed award could be applied to an Award granted under the Plan. Such assumed award shall be permissible if the holder of the assumed award would have been eligible to be granted an Award hereunder if the other entity had applied the rules of this Plan to such grant. The Committee may also grant Awards under the Plan in settlement of or in substitution for outstanding awards or obligations to grant future awards in connection with the Company or an Affiliate acquiring another entity, an interest in another entity, or an additional interest in an Affiliate whether by merger, stock purchase, asset purchase or other form of transaction.
3.3 Committee Decisions Final. All decisions made by the Committee pursuant to the provisions of the Plan shall be final and binding on the Company and the Participants, unless such decisions are determined by a court having jurisdiction to be arbitrary and capricious.
3.4 Delegation. The Committee, or if no Committee has been appointed, the Board, may delegate administration of the Plan to a committee or committees of one or more members of the Board, and the term “Committee” shall apply to any person or persons to whom such authority has been delegated. The Committee shall have the power to delegate to a subcommittee any of the administrative powers the Committee is authorized to exercise (and references in this Plan to the Board or the Committee shall thereafter be to the committee or subcommittee), subject, however, to such resolutions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as may be adopted from time to time by the Board. The Board may abolish the Committee at any time and revest in the Board the administration of the Plan. The members of the Committee shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Board. From time to time, the Board may increase or decrease the size of the Committee, add additional members to, remove members (with or without cause) from, appoint new members in substitution therefor, and fill vacancies, however caused, in the Committee. The Committee shall act pursuant to a vote of the majority of its members or, in the case of a Committee comprised of only two members, the unanimous consent of its members, whether present or not, or by the written consent of the majority of its members and minutes shall be kept of all of its meetings and copies thereof shall be provided to the Board. Subject to the limitations prescribed by the Plan and the Board, the Committee may establish and follow such rules and regulations for the conduct of its business as it may determine to be advisable.
3.5 Committee Composition. Except as otherwise determined by the Board, the Committee shall consist solely of two or more Directors appointed to the Committee from time to time by the Board.
3.6 Indemnification. In addition to such other rights of indemnification as they may have as Directors or members of the Committee, and to the extent allowed by Applicable Laws, the Committee shall be indemnified by the Company against the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, actually incurred in connection with any action, suit or proceeding or in connection with any appeal therein, to which the Committee may be party by reason of any action taken or failure to act under or in connection with the Plan or any Award granted under the Plan, and against all amounts paid by the Committee in settlement thereof (provided, however, that the settlement has been approved by the Company, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld) or paid by the Committee in satisfaction of a judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding, except in relation to matters as to which it shall be adjudged in such action, suit or proceeding that such Committee did not act in good faith and in a manner which such person reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the Company, or in the case of a criminal proceeding, had no reason to believe that the conduct complained of was unlawful; provided, however, that within 60 days after institution of any such action, suit or proceeding, such Committee shall, in writing, offer the Company the opportunity at its own expense to handle and defend such action, suit or proceeding.
4. Shares Subject to the Plan.
4.1 Subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 13, a total equal to 20% of the total issued shares (without giving effect to any share repurchases and cancellations) shall be available for the grant of Awards under the Plan. No more than 25,000,000 shares of Common Stock (subject to adjustment pursuant to Section 13) may be issued as Awards under the Plan upon the exercise of Incentive Stock Options. During the terms of the Awards, the Company shall keep available at all times the number of shares of Common Stock required to satisfy such Awards.
4.2 Shares of Common Stock available for distribution under the Plan may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued shares, treasury shares or shares reacquired by the Company in any manner.
4.3 Any shares of Common Stock subject to an Award that expires or is canceled, forfeited, or terminated without issuance of the full number of shares of Common Stock to which the Award related will again be available for issuance under the Plan. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein: shares subject to an Award under the Plan shall not again be made available for issuance or delivery under the Plan if such shares are (a) shares tendered in payment of an Option, (b) shares delivered or withheld by the Company to satisfy any tax withholding obligation, or (c) shares covered by a stock-settled Stock Appreciation Right or other Awards that were not issued upon the settlement of the Award.
4.4 If the Committee authorizes the assumption of awards pursuant to Section 3.2 or Section 14.1 hereof, the assumption will reduce the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan in the same manner as if the assumed awards had been granted under the Plan.
5. Eligibility.
5.1 Eligibility for Specific Awards. Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to Employees. Awards other than Incentive Stock Options may be granted to Employees, Consultants and Directors and those individuals whom the Committee determines are reasonably expected to become Employees, Consultants and Directors following the Grant Date.
5.2 Ten Percent Shareholders. A Ten Percent Shareholder shall not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless the Option Exercise Price is at least 110% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock on the Grant Date and the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five years from the Grant Date.
6. Option Provisions. Each Option granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement. Each Option so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 6, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement. All Options shall be separately designated Incentive Stock Options or Non-qualified Stock Options at the time of grant, and, if certificates are issued, a separate certificate or certificates will be issued for shares of Common Stock purchased on exercise of each type of Option. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall have no liability to any Participant or any other person if an Option designated as an Incentive Stock Option fails to qualify as such at any time or if an Option is determined to constitute “nonqualified deferred compensation” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code and the terms of such Option do not satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. The provisions of separate Options need not be identical, but each Option shall include (through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the Option or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:
6.1 Term. Subject to the provisions of Section 5.2 regarding Ten Percent Shareholders, no Incentive Stock Option shall be exercisable after the expiration of 10 years from the Grant Date. The term of a Non-qualified Stock Option granted under the Plan shall be determined by the Committee; provided, however, no Non-qualified Stock Option shall be exercisable after the expiration of 10 years from the Grant Date.
6.2 Exercise Price of an Incentive Stock Option. Subject to the provisions of Section 5.2 regarding Ten Percent Shareholders, the Option Exercise Price of each Incentive Stock Option shall be not less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option on the Grant Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Incentive Stock Option may be granted with an Option Exercise Price lower than that set forth in the preceding sentence if such Option is granted pursuant to an assumption or substitution for another option in a manner satisfying the provisions of Section 424(a) of the Code.
6.3 Exercise Price of a Non-qualified Stock Option. The Option Exercise Price of each Non-qualified Stock Option shall be not less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option on the Grant Date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Non-qualified Stock Option may be granted with an Option Exercise Price lower than that set forth in the preceding sentence if such Option is granted pursuant to an assumption or substitution for another option in a manner satisfying the provisions of Section 409A of the Code.
6.4 Method of Exercise. The Option Exercise Price shall be paid, to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, either (a) in cash or by certified or bank check at the time the Option is exercised or (b) in the discretion of the Committee, upon such terms as the Committee shall approve: (i) by delivery to the Company of other shares of Common Stock, duly endorsed for transfer to the Company, with a Fair Market Value on the date of delivery equal to the Option Exercise Price (or portion thereof) due for the number of shares being acquired; (ii) by a “net exercise” procedure effected by withholding the minimum number of shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable in respect of an Option that are needed to pay the Option Exercise Price; (iii) by any combination of the foregoing methods; or (iv) in any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Committee. Unless otherwise specifically provided in the Option, the Option Exercise Price that is paid by delivery to the Company of other Common Stock acquired, directly or indirectly from the Company, shall be paid only by shares of Common Stock that have been held for more than six months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes).
6.5 Transferability of an Incentive Stock Option. An Incentive Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Optionholder may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, designate a third party who, in the event of the death of the Optionholder, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise the Option.
6.6 Transferability of a Non-qualified Stock Option. A Non-qualified Stock Option may, in the sole discretion of the Committee, be transferable to a Permitted Transferee, upon written approval by the Committee to the extent provided in the Award Agreement. If the Non-qualified Stock Option does not provide for transferability, then the Non-qualified Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Optionholder may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, designate a third party who, in the event of the death of the Optionholder, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise the Option.
6.7 Vesting of Options. Each Option may, but need not, vest and therefore become exercisable in periodic installments that may, but need not, be equal. The Option may be subject to such other terms and conditions on the time or times when it may be exercised (which may be based on performance or other criteria) as the Committee may deem appropriate. The vesting provisions of individual Options may vary. No Option may be exercised for a fraction of a share of Common Stock. The Committee may, but shall not be required to, provide for an acceleration of vesting and exercisability in the terms of any Award Agreement upon the occurrence of a specified event.
6.8 Termination of Continuous Service. Unless otherwise provided in an Award Agreement or in an employment agreement the terms of which have been approved by the Committee, in the event an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates (other than upon the Optionholder’s death or Disability), the Optionholder may exercise his or her Option (to the extent that the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of termination) but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (a) the date three months following the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service or (b) the expiration of the term of the Option as set forth in the Award Agreement; provided that, if the termination of Continuous Service is by the Company for Cause, all outstanding Options (whether or not vested) shall immediately terminate and cease to be exercisable. If, after termination, the Optionholder does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified in the Award Agreement, the Option shall terminate.
6.9 Disability of Optionholder. Unless otherwise provided in an Award Agreement, in the event that an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Optionholder’s Disability, the Optionholder may exercise his or her Option (to the extent that the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of termination), but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (a) the date 12 months following such termination or (b) the expiration of the term of the Option as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after termination, the Optionholder does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified herein or in the Award Agreement, the Option shall terminate.
6.10 Death of Optionholder. Unless otherwise provided in an Award Agreement, in the event an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Optionholder’s death, then the Option may be exercised (to the extent the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of death) by the Optionholder’s estate, by a person who acquired the right to exercise the Option by bequest or inheritance or by a person designated to exercise the Option upon the Optionholder’s death, but only within the period ending on the earlier of (a) the date 12 months following the date of death or (b) the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after the Optionholder’s death, the Option is not exercised within the time specified herein or in the Award Agreement, the Option shall terminate.
6.11 Incentive Stock Option $100,000 Limitation. To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of Common Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Optionholder during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and its Affiliates) exceeds $100,000, the Options or portions thereof which exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) shall be treated as Non-qualified Stock Options.
6.12 Detrimental Activity. Unless otherwise provided in an Award Agreement, all outstanding Options (whether or not vested) shall immediately terminate and cease to be exercisable on the date on which an Optionholder engages in Detrimental Activity.
7. Restricted Awards. A Restricted Award is an Award of actual shares of Common Stock (“Restricted Stock”) or an Award of hypothetical Common Stock Units (“Restricted Stock Units”) having a value equal to the Fair Market Value of an identical number of shares of Common Stock. Restricted Awards may, but need not, provide that such Restricted Award may not be sold, assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of, pledged or hypothecated as collateral for a loan or as security for the performance of any obligation or for any other purpose during the Restricted Period as the Committee shall determine. Each Restricted Award granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement. Each Restricted Award so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 7, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement.
7.1 Restricted Stock. Each Participant granted Restricted Stock shall execute and deliver to the Company an Award Agreement with respect to the Restricted Stock setting forth the restrictions and other terms and conditions applicable to such Restricted Stock. If the Committee determines that the Restricted Stock shall be held by the Company or in escrow rather than delivered to the Participant pending the release of the applicable restrictions, the Committee may require the Participant to additionally execute and deliver to the Company (A) an escrow agreement satisfactory to the Committee, if applicable and (B) the appropriate blank stock power with respect to the Restricted Stock covered by such agreement. If a Participant fails to execute an agreement evidencing an Award of Restricted Stock and, if applicable, an escrow agreement and stock power, the Award shall be null and void. Subject to the restrictions set forth in the Award, the Participant generally shall have the rights and privileges of a shareholder as to such Restricted Stock, including the right to vote such Restricted Stock and the right to receive dividends.
7.2 Restricted Stock Units. The terms and conditions of a grant of Restricted Stock Units shall be reflected in an Award Agreement. No shares of Common Stock shall be issued at the time a Restricted Stock Unit is granted, and the Company will not be required to set aside funds for the payment of any such Award. A Participant shall have no voting rights with respect to any Restricted Stock Units granted hereunder.
7.3 Restrictions.
(a) Restrictions on Restricted Stock. Restricted Stock awarded to a Participant shall be subject to the following restrictions until the expiration of the Restricted Period, and to such other terms and conditions as may be set forth in the applicable Award Agreement: (A) if an escrow arrangement is used, the Participant shall not be entitled to delivery of the stock certificate; (B) the shares shall be subject to the restrictions on transferability set forth in the Award Agreement; (C) the shares shall be subject to forfeiture to the extent provided in the applicable Award Agreement; and (D) to the extent such shares are forfeited, the stock certificates shall be returned to the Company, and all rights of the Participant to such shares and as a shareholder with respect to such shares shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Company.
(b) Restrictions on Restricted Stock Units. Restricted Stock Units awarded to a Participant shall be subject to (A) forfeiture until the expiration of the Restricted Period and satisfaction of any applicable Performance Goals during such period, to the extent provided in the applicable Award Agreement, and to the extent such Restricted Stock Units are forfeited, all rights of the Participant to such Restricted Stock Units shall terminate without further obligation on the part of the Company and (B) such other terms and conditions as may be set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.
(c) Committee Discretion to Remove Restrictions. The Committee shall have the authority to remove any or all of the restrictions on the Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units whenever it may determine that, by reason of changes in Applicable Laws or other changes in circumstances arising after the Grant Date, such action is appropriate.
7.4 Restricted Period. The Restricted Period shall commence on the Grant Date and end at the time or times set forth on a schedule established by the Committee in the applicable Award Agreement; provided, however, that notwithstanding any such vesting dates, the Committee may in its sole discretion accelerate the vesting of any Restricted Award at any time and for any reason. The Committee may, but shall not be required to, provide for an acceleration of vesting in the terms of any Award Agreement upon the occurrence of a specified event.
7.5 Delivery of Restricted Stock and Settlement of Restricted Stock Units. Upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any shares of Restricted Stock, the restrictions set forth in Section 7.3(a) and the applicable Award Agreement shall be of no further force or effect with respect to such shares, except as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. If an escrow arrangement is used, upon such expiration, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his or her beneficiary, without charge, the stock certificate evidencing the shares of Restricted Stock which have not then been forfeited and with respect to which the Restricted Period has expired (to the nearest full share). Upon the expiration of the Restricted Period with respect to any outstanding Restricted Stock Units, the Company shall deliver to the Participant, or his or her beneficiary, without charge, one share of Common Stock for each outstanding Restricted Stock Unit; provided, however, that if explicitly provided in the Award Agreement, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, elect to pay part cash or part cash and part Common Stock in lieu of delivering only shares of Common Stock for vested Restricted Stock Units. If a cash payment is made in lieu of delivering shares of Common Stock, the amount of such payment shall be equal to the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock as of the date on which the Restricted Period lapsed.
No Restricted Award may be granted or settled for a fraction of a share of Common Stock.
8. Performance Share Awards Each Performance Share Award granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement. Each Performance Share Award so granted shall be subject to the conditions set forth in this Section 8, and to such other conditions not inconsistent with the Plan as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement. The Committee shall have the discretion to determine: (i) the number of shares of Common Stock or stock-denominated units subject to a Performance Share Award granted to any Participant; (ii) the Performance Period applicable to any Award; (iii) the conditions that must be satisfied for a Participant to earn an Award; and (iv) the other terms, conditions and restrictions of the Award.
8.1 Earning Performance Share Awards The number of Performance Shares earned by a Participant will depend on the extent to which the Performance Goals established by the Committee are attained within the applicable Performance Period, as determined by the Committee.
9. Securities Law Compliance.
9.1 Securities Registration. No Awards shall be granted under the Plan and no shares of Common Stock shall be issued and delivered upon the exercise of Options granted under the Plan unless and until the Company and/or the Participant have complied with all applicable federal and state registration, listing and/or qualification requirements and all other requirements of law or of any regulatory agencies having jurisdiction.
9.2 Representations; Legends. The Committee may, as a condition to the grant of any Award or the exercise of any Option under the Plan, require a Participant to (i) represent in writing that the shares of Common Stock received in connection with such Award are being acquired for investment and not with a view to distribution and (ii) make such other representations and warranties as are deemed appropriate by counsel to the Company. Each certificate representing shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan shall bear a legend in such form as the Company deems appropriate.
10. Use of Proceeds from Stock. Proceeds from the sale of Common Stock pursuant to Awards, or upon exercise thereof, shall constitute general funds of the Company.
11. Other Equity-Based Awards and Cash Awards. The Committee may grant Other Equity-Based Awards, either alone or in tandem with other Awards, in such amounts and subject to such conditions as the Committee shall determine in its sole discretion. Each Equity-Based Award shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement and shall be subject to such conditions, not inconsistent with the Plan, as may be reflected in the applicable Award Agreement. The Committee may grant Cash Awards in such amounts and subject to such Performance Goals, other vesting conditions, and such other terms as the Committee determines in its discretion. Cash Awards shall be evidenced in such form as the Committee may determine.
12. Miscellaneous.
12.1 Acceleration of Exercisability and Vesting. The Committee shall have the power to accelerate the time at which an Award may first be exercised or the time during which an Award or any part thereof will vest in accordance with the Plan, notwithstanding the provisions in the Award stating the time at which it may first be exercised or the time during which it will vest.
12.2 Shareholder Rights. Except as provided in the Plan or an Award Agreement, no Participant shall be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any shares of Common Stock subject to an Award unless and until such Participant has satisfied all requirements for exercise or settlement of the Award pursuant to its terms (including any obligation to execute the Shareholders’ Agreement) and no adjustment shall be made for dividends (ordinary or extraordinary, whether in cash, securities or other property) or distributions of other rights for which the record date is prior to the date such Common Stock certificate is issued, except as provided in Section 13 hereof.
12.3 No Employment or Other Service Rights. Nothing in the Plan or any instrument executed or Award granted pursuant thereto shall confer upon any Participant any right to continue to serve the Company or an Affiliate in the capacity in effect at the time the Award was granted or shall affect the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate (a) the employment of an Employee with or without notice and with or without Cause or (b) the service of a Director pursuant to the By-laws of the Company or an Affiliate, and any applicable provisions of the corporate law of the state in which the Company or the Affiliate is incorporated, as the case may be.
12.4 Transfer; Approved Leave of Absence. For purposes of the Plan, no termination of employment by an Employee shall be deemed to result from either (a) a transfer of employment to the Company from an Affiliate or from the Company to an Affiliate, or from one Affiliate to another, or (b) an approved leave of absence for military service or sickness, or for any other purpose approved by the Company, if the Employee’s right to reemployment is guaranteed either by a statute or by contract or under the policy pursuant to which the leave of absence was granted or if the Committee otherwise so provides in writing, in either case, except to the extent inconsistent with Section 409A of the Code if the applicable Award is subject thereto.
12.5 Withholding Obligations. To the extent provided by the terms of an Award Agreement and subject to the discretion of the Committee, the Participant may satisfy any federal, state or local tax withholding obligation relating to the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under an Award by any of the following means (in addition to the Company’s right to withhold from any compensation paid to the Participant by the Company) or by a combination of such means: (a) tendering a cash payment; (b) authorizing the Company to withhold shares of Common Stock from the shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable to the Participant as a result of the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Award, provided, however, that no shares of Common Stock are withheld with a value exceeding the maximum amount of tax required to be withheld by law; or (c) delivering to the Company previously owned and unencumbered shares of Common Stock of the Company.
13. Adjustments Upon Changes in Stock. In the event of changes in the outstanding Common Stock or in the capital structure of the Company by reason of any stock or extraordinary cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, an extraordinary corporate transaction such as any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, combination, exchange, or other relevant change in capitalization occurring after the Grant Date of any Award, Awards granted under the Plan and any Award Agreements, the exercise price of Options and Stock Appreciation Rights, the Performance Goals to which Performance Share Awards and Cash Awards are subject, the maximum number of shares of Common Stock subject to all Awards stated in Section 3.1 will be equitably adjusted or substituted, as to the number, price or kind of a share of Common Stock or other consideration subject to such Awards to the extent necessary to preserve the economic intent of such Award. In the case of adjustments made pursuant to this Section 13, unless the Committee specifically determines that such adjustment is in the best interests of the Company or its Affiliates, the Committee shall, in the case of Incentive Stock Options, ensure that any adjustments under this Section 13 will not constitute a modification, extension or renewal of the Incentive Stock Options within the meaning of Section 424(h)(3) of the Code and in the case of Non-qualified Stock Options, ensure that any adjustments under this Section 13 will not constitute a modification of such Non-qualified Stock Options within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code.
14. Effect of Change in Control.
14.1 In the event of a Change in Control, the Committee may, but shall not be obligated to:
(a) accelerate, vest or cause the restrictions to lapse with respect to all or any portion of any Award;
(b) cancel Awards and cause to be paid to the holders of vested Awards the value of such Awards, if any, as determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion, it being understood that in the case of any Option with an Option Exercise Price that equals or exceeds the price paid for a share of Common Stock in connection with the Change in Control, the Committee may cancel the Option without the payment of consideration therefor;
(c) provide for the issuance of substitute Awards or the assumption or replacement of such Awards; or
(d) provide written notice to Participants that for a period of at least ten days prior to the Change in Control, such Awards shall be exercisable, to the extent applicable, as to all shares of Common Stock subject thereto and upon the occurrence of the Change in Control, any Awards not so exercised shall terminate and be of no further force and effect.
14.2 The obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be binding upon any successor corporation or organization resulting from the merger, consolidation or other reorganization of the Company, or upon any successor corporation or organization succeeding to all or substantially all of the assets and business of the Company and its Affiliates, taken as a whole.
15. Amendment of the Plan and Awards.
15.1 Amendment of Plan. The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend or terminate the Plan. However, except as provided in Section 13 relating to adjustments upon changes in Common Stock and Section 15.3, no amendment shall be effective unless approved by the shareholders of the Company to the extent shareholder approval is necessary to satisfy any Applicable Laws. At the time of such amendment, the Board shall determine, upon advice from counsel, whether such amendment will be contingent on shareholder approval.
15.2 Shareholder Approval. The Board may, in its sole discretion, submit any other amendment to the Plan for shareholder approval.
15.3 Contemplated Amendments. It is expressly contemplated that the Board may amend the Plan in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable to provide eligible Employees, Consultants and Directors with the maximum benefits provided or to be provided under the provisions of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder relating to Incentive Stock Options or to the nonqualified deferred compensation provisions of Section 409A of the Code and/or to bring the Plan and/or Awards granted under it into compliance therewith.
15.4 No Impairment of Rights. Rights under any Award granted before amendment of the Plan shall not be impaired by any amendment of the Plan unless (a) the Company requests the consent of the Participant and (b) the Participant consents in writing.
15.5 Amendment of Awards. The Committee at any time, and from time to time, may amend the terms of any one or more Awards; provided, however, that the Committee may not affect any amendment which would otherwise constitute an impairment of the rights under any Award unless (a) the Company requests the consent of the Participant and (b) the Participant consents in writing.
16. General Provisions.
16.1 Clawback; Forfeiture. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide in an Award Agreement or otherwise that the Committee may cancel such Award if the Participant has engaged in or engages in any Detrimental Activity. The Committee may, in its sole discretion, also provide in an Award Agreement or otherwise that (i) if the Participant has engaged in or engages in Detrimental Activity, the Participant will forfeit any gain realized on the vesting, exercise or settlement of any Award, and must repay the gain to the Company and (ii) if the Participant receives any amount in excess of what the Participant should have received under the terms of the Award for any reason (including, without limitation, by reason of a financial restatement, mistake in calculations or other administrative error), then the Participant shall be required to repay any such excess amount to the Company. Without limiting the foregoing, all Awards shall be subject to reduction, cancellation, forfeiture or recoupment to the extent necessary to comply with Applicable Laws.
16.2 Shareholders’ Agreement. In connection with the grant, vesting and/or exercise of any Award under the Plan, the Committee may require a Participant to execute and become a party to the Shareholders’ Agreement as a condition of such grant, vesting and/or exercise. The Shareholders’ Agreement may contain restrictions on the transferability of shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan (such as a right of first refusal or a prohibition on transfer) and such shares may be subject to call rights and drag-along rights of the Company and certain of its investors. The Company shall also have any repurchase rights set forth in the Shareholders’ Agreement or any Award Agreement.
16.3 Other Compensation Arrangements. Nothing contained in this Plan shall prevent the Board from adopting other or additional compensation arrangements, subject to shareholder approval if such approval is required; and such arrangements may be either generally applicable or applicable only in specific cases.
16.4 Sub-Plans. The Committee may from time to time establish sub-plans under the Plan for purposes of satisfying securities, tax or other laws of various jurisdictions in which the Company intends to grant Awards. Any sub-plans shall contain such limitations and other terms and conditions as the Committee determines are necessary or desirable. All sub-plans shall be deemed a part of the Plan, but each sub-plan shall apply only to the Participants in the jurisdiction for which the sub-plan was designed.
16.5 Deferral of Awards. The Committee may establish one or more programs under the Plan to permit selected Participants the opportunity to elect to defer receipt of consideration upon exercise of an Award, satisfaction of performance criteria, or other event that absent the election would entitle the Participant to payment or receipt of shares of Common Stock or other consideration under an Award. The Committee may establish the election procedures, the timing of such elections, the mechanisms for payments of, and accrual of interest or other earnings, if any, on amounts, shares or other consideration so deferred, and such other terms, conditions, rules and procedures that the Committee deems advisable for the administration of any such deferral program.
16.6 Unfunded Plan. The Plan shall be unfunded. Neither the Company, the Board nor the Committee shall be required to establish any special or separate fund or to segregate any assets to assure the performance of its obligations under the Plan.
16.7 Recapitalizations. Each Award Agreement shall contain provisions required to reflect the provisions of Section 13.
16.8 Delivery. Upon exercise of a right granted under this Plan, the Company shall issue Common Stock or pay any amounts due within a reasonable period of time thereafter. Subject to any statutory or regulatory obligations the Company may otherwise have, for purposes of this Plan, 30 days shall be considered a reasonable period of time.
16.9 No Fractional Shares. No fractional shares of Common Stock shall be issued or delivered pursuant to the Plan. The Committee shall determine whether cash, additional Awards or other securities or property shall be issued or paid in lieu of fractional shares of Common Stock or whether any fractional shares should be rounded, forfeited or otherwise eliminated.
16.10 Other Provisions. The Award Agreements authorized under the Plan may contain such other provisions not inconsistent with this Plan, including, without limitation, restrictions upon the exercise of Awards, as the Committee may deem advisable.
16.11 Section 409A. The Plan is intended to comply with Section 409A of the Code to the extent subject thereto, and, accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted, the Plan shall be interpreted and administered to be in compliance therewith. Any payments described in the Plan that are due within the “short-term deferral period” as defined in Section 409A of the Code shall not be treated as deferred compensation unless Applicable Laws require otherwise. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, to the extent required to avoid accelerated taxation and tax penalties under Section 409A of the Code, amounts that would otherwise be payable and benefits that would otherwise be provided pursuant to the Plan during the six (6) month period immediately following the Participant’s termination of Continuous Service shall instead be paid on the first payroll date after the six-month anniversary of the Participant’s separation from service (or the Participant’s death, if earlier). Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither the Company nor the Committee shall have any obligation to take any action to prevent the assessment of any additional tax or penalty on any Participant under Section 409A of the Code and neither the Company nor the Committee will have any liability to any Participant for such tax or penalty.
16.12 Disqualifying Dispositions. Any Participant who shall make a “disposition” (as defined in Section 424 of the Code) of all or any portion of shares of Common Stock acquired upon exercise of an Incentive Stock Option within two years from the Grant Date of such Incentive Stock Option or within one year after the issuance of the shares of Common Stock acquired upon exercise of such Incentive Stock Option (a “Disqualifying Disposition”) shall be required to immediately advise the Company in writing as to the occurrence of the sale and the price realized upon the sale of such shares of Common Stock.
16.13 Beneficiary Designation. Each Participant under the Plan may from time to time name any beneficiary or beneficiaries by whom any right under the Plan is to be exercised in case of such Participant’s death. Each designation will revoke all prior designations by the same Participant, shall be in a form reasonably prescribed by the Committee and shall be effective only when filed by the Participant in writing with the Company during the Participant’s lifetime.
16.14 Expenses. The costs of administering the Plan shall be paid by the Company.
16.15 Severability. If any of the provisions of the Plan or any Award Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, whether in whole or in part, such provision shall be deemed modified to the extent, but only to the extent, of such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability and the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby.
16.16 Plan Headings. The headings in the Plan are for purposes of convenience only and are not intended to define or limit the construction of the provisions hereof.
16.17 Non-Uniform Treatment. The Committee’s determinations under the Plan need not be uniform and may be made by it selectively among persons who are eligible to receive, or actually receive, Awards. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Committee shall be entitled to make non-uniform and selective determinations, amendments and adjustments, and to enter into non-uniform and selective Award Agreements.
17. Termination or Suspension of the Plan. The Plan shall terminate automatically on the tenth anniversary of the date of adoption. No Award shall be granted pursuant to the Plan after such date, but Awards theretofore granted may extend beyond that date. The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any earlier date pursuant to Section 15.1 hereof. No Awards may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it is terminated.
18. Choice of Law. The law of the State of Florida shall govern all questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Plan, without regard to such state’s conflict of law rules.
As adopted by the Board of Directors of Innovative Eyewear, Inc. on July 1, 2021.
As approved by the shareholders of Innovative Eyewear, Inc. on July 1, 2021.
Exhibit 5.1
 |
1345 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, 11th FLOOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10017
TELEPHONE: (212) 370-1300
FACSIMILE: (212) 370-7889
www.egsllp.com |
April 2, 2025
Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
11900 Biscayne Blvd, Suite 630
Miami, Florida 33181
|
Re: |
Registration Statement on Form S-8 |
Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to Innovative Eyewear, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement has been filed to register 417,453 shares (the “Plan Shares”) of Company common stock to be issued pursuant to the Innovative Eyewear, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”).
In arriving at the opinion expressed below, we have examined and relied on the following documents:
|
(1) |
the Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, each as amended as of the date hereof; |
|
(3) |
records of meetings and consents of the Board of Directors of the Company provided to us by the Company. |
In addition, we have examined and relied on the originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction of all such corporate records of the Company and such other instruments and other certificates of public officials, officers and representatives of the Company and such other persons, and we have made such investigations of law, as we have deemed appropriate as a basis for the opinion expressed below. In such examination, we have assumed, without independent verification, the genuineness of all signatures (whether original or photostatic), the accuracy and completeness of each document submitted to us, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as facsimile, electronic, certified, conformed or photostatic copies thereof. We have further assumed the legal capacity of natural persons, that persons identified to us as officers of the Company are actually serving in such capacity, that the representations of officers and employees of the Company are correct as to questions of fact and that each party to the documents we have examined or relied on (other than the Company) has the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and also have assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or other, of the execution and delivery by such parties of such documents, and the validity and binding effect thereon on such parties. We have also assumed that the Company will not in the future issue or otherwise make unavailable so many shares of its Common Stock that there are insufficient authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock for issuance of the shares issuable upon exercise of the options being registered in the Registration Statement. We have not independently verified any of these assumptions.
The opinions expressed in this opinion letter are limited to the Business Corporation Act of the State of Florida. We are not opining on, and we assume no responsibility for, the applicability or effect on any of the matters covered herein of: (a) any other laws; (b) the laws of any other jurisdiction; or (c) the laws of any country, municipality or other political subdivision or local government agency or authority. The opinions set forth below are rendered as of the date of this opinion letter. We assume no obligation to update or supplement such opinions to reflect any change of law or fact that may occur.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that the Plan Shares have been duly authorized and, upon issuance and payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the 2021 Plan, and the awards, agreements or certificates issued thereunder, will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are experts with respect to any part of the Registration Statement within the meaning of the term “expert” as used in Section 11 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor do we admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated thereunder.
|
Very truly yours, |
|
|
|
/s/ Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP |
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm
We hereby consent to the incorporation in this
Registration Statement on Form S-8 of our report dated March 24, 2025, relating to the financial statements of Innovative Eyewear, Inc
(the “Company”) appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company as of and for the years ended December 31, 2024
and 2023, and to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in this Registration Statement.
/s/ Cherry Bekaert LLP
Tampa, Florida
April 2, 2025
Exhibit 107
CALCULATION OF FILING FEE TABLE
FORM S-8
(Form type)
Innovative Eyewear, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Table 1: Newly Registered Securities
Security Type |
|
Security Class Title |
|
Fee Calculation Rule |
|
Amount Registered (1) |
|
|
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share (2) |
|
|
Maximum Aggregate Offering Price (2) |
|
|
Fee Rate |
|
|
Amount of Registration Fee |
|
Equity |
|
Common Stock, par value $0.00001 per share |
|
Rule 457(c) and 457(h) |
|
|
417,453 |
|
|
$ |
2.74 |
|
|
$ |
1,141,733.96 |
|
|
$ |
0.0001531 |
|
|
$ |
174.80 |
|
|
|
Total Offering Amounts |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
1,141,733.96 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Fees Previously Paid |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Fee Offsets |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net Fee Due |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
174.80 |
|
(1) |
This registration statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) covers 417,453 shares of common stock of Innovative Eyewear, Inc. (the “Registrant”) issuable pursuant to awards under the Registrant’s 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”); and (ii) pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), an indeterminate number of additional shares of common stock that may become issuable under the terms of the 2021 Plan by reason of any stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected without the Registrant’s receipt of consideration, which results in an increase in the number of the Registrant’s outstanding shares of common stock. Additionally, pursuant to Rule 416(b) under the Securities Act, if prior to the completion of the distribution of the shares of common stock registered under this Registration Statement all shares of common stock are combined by a reverse share split into a lesser number of shares of common stock, the number of undistributed shares of common stock covered by this Registration Statement shall be proportionately reduced. |
(2) |
Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rules 457(c) and (h) under the Securities Act, and based upon the average of the high ($2.87) and low ($2.60) prices of the Registrant’s Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market on March 26, 2025, which date is within five business days prior to filing this Registration Statement. |
Innovative Eyewear (NASDAQ:LUCYW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2025 to Apr 2025
Innovative Eyewear (NASDAQ:LUCYW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to Apr 2025