The U.S. Supreme Court rejected optical companies’ challenge Tuesday to a California law, backed by optometrists, that prohibits eyeglass sellers from using their offices to conduct eye exams.

The 1969 law bars opticians who sell eyewear from leasing space to eye doctors, while allowing doctors who check patients’ eyesight to also sell eyeglasses in their offices.

It thus reserves to optometrists and ophthalmologists the ability to offer “one-stop shopping” for exams and glasses while denying it to optical companies, many of them national chains.

A federal judge in Sacramento struck down the law in 2006, saying it was a protectionist measure designed to limit competition from out-of-state optical chains.

More: U.S. Supreme Court Sides With Optometrists - SFGate