"Cross License between VISX and Bausch & Lomb. In January 2001, VISX and Bausch & Lomb signed an agreement whereby we licensed our patents relating to refractive excimer lasers to Bausch & Lomb. As consideration, Bausch & Lomb licensed its patents relating to refractive excimer lasers to us and will pay us a royalty for each procedure performed in the United States using Bausch & Lomb’s refractive excimer laser. All pending disputes and litigation between the two companies were also settled at that time."
Understood. However, (1) price is already $500/eye in many instances and will fall rapidly going forward - the profit margin in this simple procedure is insane (PS, I've had it done myself); (2) as the procedure will shortly be available for farsightedness as well, the market will exceed 150 mm; (3) like INTC with CPUs, EYE gets a flat per-eye royalty regardless of procedure cost, so as prices go down and procedures go up, EYE's business model shows strength (just as INTC sells more CPUs as DELL prices decline); (4) to the best of my knowledge, EYE gets a royalty on procedures performed on even their competitor's machines as the EYE patents are very broad (not positive about this, as the case settlements were confidential).