Are You Using the US Customs & Border Protection to Protect Your Golf Industry Intellectual Property?

Let’s face it, counterfeiting costs golf equipment manufacturers millions, if not billions, of dollars each year. Additionally, establishing a program to monitor and police counterfeit goods can be very expensive. Fortunately, there are several low cost steps that you can take to protect your intellectual property via the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In fact, by recording IP with the CBP, U.S. trademark and copyright holders can make the government a partner in their efforts to protect valuable IP. In today’s global economy it is becoming increasingly more important …

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Record Year for PCT (International) Patent Application Filings – A Closer Look at the Golf Industry

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently announced that a record 145,300 PCT applications were filed in 2006. The United States led the way with just under 50,000 PCT applications filed, representing 34% of all PCT filings. Japanese applicants ranked second with 18.5% of the total applications, while Germany, the Republic of Korea and France rounded out the top five. My informal research of the golf industry shows the following number of PCT applications published in 2006 for the golf giants: 1) Callaway Golf – 142 2) Acushnet – 103 3) …

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Golf Club Design Patents – Innovative Use for Score Line Designs

Continuing my series on “Innovative Uses of Golf Club Design Patents,” today we look at score lines (aka the decorative lines on the face of a driver that mimic grooves). Most people (even many patent attorneys) would never think of applying for design patent protection on the configuration of the score lines on the face of a driver. My research indicates that Karsten Manufacturing (aka PING) invented the strategy of protecting score patterns. The most recent design patent directed to score lines issued to Callaway Golf on January 9th as USPN D534,977 titled “Scoreline Pattern for a Golf Club Head.” A figure from the patent is reproduced below…

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Golf Club Design Patents – Innovative Use for Sole Design

Regular readers of this blog know that I believe design patents are underutilized in the golf industry, which is not to say that I don’t still believe that utility patents are king (as that is where the real IP “teeth” are). But design patents definitely have their place in an IP portfolio. Therefore, I like to highlight innovative uses of design patents in the golf industry…

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IP Grab of the Week: PING’s Putter with Shaft Terminating at Club Head Center of Gravity

The “IP Grab of the Week” award goes to Karsten Manufacturing (makers of PING golf equipment). This week Karsten’s application titled “Center-of-Gravity Shafted Golf Putter and Method of Making Same” published as US Pub. No. US2007/0042831. The application is short and easy to read. To summarize: Karsten seeks to obtain patent protection on putters configured such that the shaft terminates at the CG of the putter head. This application was selected as the “IP Grab of the Week” because it makes a bold aggressive grab attempting to obtain broad patent rights. …

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Test Your Knowledge of Golf Putter Designs

“Test Your Knowledge” is becoming a recurring feature of Golf-Patents.com. In the last installment your knowledge of iron club head design was tested. Now let’s see how good are you at identifying a particular brand of golf putter when all the logos and trademarks are stripped off the putter? The figures below comes from a US design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of putter? You can click here for the answer, and click here …

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Fascinating IP of the Week – One for the Tree Huggers

Today a patent application titled “Method for Making a Golf Tee” caught my eye. The application published as US Pub. No. 2007/0042840 and is directed to a more environmentally friendly way of making golf tees. In other words, a process of making tees that does not waste as much wood as traditional methods. There is no doubt that it is a good idea, but only time will tell if it rises to the level of a patentable invention. Check it out. PS – tree huggers please don’t be offended, as I am one (especially after one …

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Test Your Knowledge of Golf Club Designs

Readers of this blog probably fancy themselves as knowing a little something about golf clubs, so this test should be a piece of cake. How good are you at identifying a particular brand of golf club when all the logos and trademarks are stripped off the club? The figure below comes from a US design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of clubs?…

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Golf Bag Patents – Why Aren’t Manufacturers Taking IP Seriously

Golf equipment manufacturers have been seeking patent protection on virtually every product variation imaginable in the past decade. Therefore when I decided to do some research on golf bag patents (both utility and design) I expected to find hundreds of patents and published applications. Surprisingly, there are very few utility or design patents directed to golf bags. This is in stark contrast to clubs, balls, shoes, and even head covers! Sooner or later one of the bag manufacturers is going to take an aggressive patent strategy and dominate the market. I look forward to seeing who it is. …

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What a Week for Callaway Golf – 2 in a Playoff, 2 Golf Ball Patents, 1 Golf Club Patent

Callaway Golf has had a good week… their players dominate the field on Sunday and they are awarded 2 golf ball patents and 1 golf club patent on Tuesday. Callaway was issued USPN 7,179,175 titled “Golf Club Having Stepped Grooves.” The ‘175 patent is definitely worth reading… it is short and it illustrates that broad patents issue to inventors that come up with inventions that are the first in their field. The figure below illustrates the “stepped groove” concept…

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Interesting Golf Accessory Patent – Golf Bag Hydration Device

Every now and then an interesting golf accessory invention is patented. This week USPN 7,175,059 titled “Hydration Device / Golf Bag Carrying Harness Combination” issued. As a golfer that walks a lot of rounds on hot humid Ohio summer days, I can appreciate the market for this product and hope to see it in the golf shops soon. The ‘059 patent does not appear to be …

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President’s Day Story of Perseverance

My friend Jim Blasingame (a.k.a. The Small Business Advocate®) does more for small business than anyone I know. Jim is an accomplished radio show host, author, and golfer. The reason I tell you this is because his weekly newsletter included a great story on perseverance that I have reproduced below.
UNTIL NEXT TIME: Last week we celebrated the birth of the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. This week, in the U.S., we celebrate Presidents Day, where we recognize the contributions of our nation’s top elected leaders. As …

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Shameless Press Release Welcoming New IP Attorney to My Firm

I am pleased to announce that Donald O. Nickey has joined my firm and brings a wealth of experience with him. Don is the former Assistant General Counsel for Intellectual Property at Cardinal Health. Additionally, he has also served as patent counsel for The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Abbott Laboratories, and as a partner in the private practice of intellectual property law. During over thirty years of practice, Don has been directly involved in the prosecution of more than 300 United States patents, as well as patents in virtually every country. Representative technologies include …

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Published App of the Week: Iron Set with Material Milled from Top

OK, “Iron Set with Material Milled from Top” isn’t really the title of the published application of the week, but a quick review of the figures from this application will explain my title. Actually, US Pub. No. 2007/0032308 is titled “Set of Golf Clubs.” The application is directed to a set of clubs wherein each iron has at least one recess in the upper wall and the volume and location of the recess varies from one club to another so that the position of the center of gravity of each head varies. The figures below tell the rest of the …

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Bust Your Competitors’ Patents

Hopefully the title got your attention. Companies often complain about the scope of protection that one of their competitor’s patents affords the competitor. Sometimes the complaints have merit, other times… not so much. Let’s face it; the golf industry is a competitive industry. The industry veterans have every club and/or ball produced in the past 20, 30, 40, … years memorized. Guess what… the patent examiners at the USPTO do not. In fact, many of the patent examiners reviewing golf product related patent applications are not even golfers (if you can imagine that)! Additionally, patent …

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Fascinating IP of the Week

Today application serial number 11/498644 published as US Pub. No. US2007/0037635. As soon as I saw it I knew that it should be shared with the world. In fact, I had to create an entirely new category titled “Fascinated IP of the Week” just to find an appropriate home for this post (frankly, because I didn’t know if I was looking at the next great golf technology or something ridiculous – although I have a hunch). Check out this innovation below.

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IP Grab of the Week: Low Center of Gravity Club Head

Congratulations are in order; the “IP Grab of the Week” award goes to Nelson Precision Casting (again). NPC’s US patent application titled “Golf Club Head With Lower Center of Gravity,” US Pub. No. US2007/0026965 published on February 1st. The ‘965 application is directed to a lightweight metal matrix ball striking surface that reduces the forward weight of the club head thereby allowing more weight to be placed toward the rear of the head. Paragraph 37 of the application provides a good explanation of the purpose of the invention: [0037] After assembly, …

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Patent of the Week: Variable Thickness Putter Face Insert

This week’s Patent of the Week goes to SRI Sports (owners of the Srixon and Dunlop brands). SRI Sports was issued U.S. Patent No. 7,175,540 simply titled “Golf Putter” on February 13, 2007 (selected figures from which appear below). Regular readers of this blog will recognize that there has definitely been a recent increase in patents directed to varying the characteristics of the striking face of clubs. This patent is directed to a variable thickness elastic face insert for a putter. The face insert is made of an elastic material, such as a resin, that increases …

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Continuing Patent Applications – What Are They & When Are They Appropriate: A Real Life Example from PING

The term “continuing application” is a common term in intellectual property, yet it is often misunderstood and incorrectly applied. This is primarily due to the number of changes in the rules governing continuation practice that have occurred in the past decade (and more changes pending). Most patent applications are filed as “original” applications. In other words, they establish their own filing date and do not have an effective filing date based upon another previously filed application. If an “original” application is then used to establish an effective filing date of a later filed application, it becomes …

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Trademark Infringement / Trademark Litigation: What Is It and How Does It Work?

Trademarks are words or symbols that serve as names under which products are sold. Service marks are words or symbols under which services are provided. Other than this difference, the law on trademarks and service marks is very similar, and we mean to include both when we talk about trademarks below. What is Trademark Infringement? A trademark gives its holder the right to prevent another party from offering similar goods or services under a mark, or under a mark that …

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USPTO Announces Patent Allowance Rate

Recently the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced its final numbers for fiscal year 2006. One interesting statistic was the patent allowance rate. The patent allowance rate is the percentage of applications reviewed by patent examiners that are approved to issue as a patent. For fiscal year 2006, the allowance rate was 54%, the lowest rate on record. The rate was much lower than many had previously estimated. Some had estimated an allowance rate as high as 90%, while others estimated a rate around 70%. This allowance rate may be an indication that the USPTO is toughening its examination of …

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Patent Infringement / Patent Litigation: What Is It and How Does It Work?

As a patent attorney I have come to appreciate that not many people really understand the technical details of the patent litigation process. Hopefully this post helps. Also, please keep in mind that this post relates to utility patents NOT design patents (which may be the subject of a later post). Enjoy. Patents give their owners both offensive and defensive rights. Offensive rights include the ability to stop others from making, using, or selling the patented …

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USPTO Statistics from the 2006 Fiscal Year

The close of another fiscal year at the USPTO brings forth some interesting statistics. For instance, the number of new patent applications filed in FY 2006 rose to 443,652, up over 8% from the 409,532 applications filed in FY 2005. Additionally, despite the USPTO hiring over 1200 new patent examiners, the number of pending patent applications increased over 13% in the past year to 1,003,884. According to the statistics, an applicant, on average, will not receive a first office action until nearly two years after their application is filed. Furthermore, the average total pendency of …

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Published App of the Week: PING G5i Putter (Dual-Durometer Insert)

Golf fanatics will recognize Karsten’s patent application, US Pub. No. 2007/0026964, titled “Golf Club Head with Dual Durometer Face Insert” as being directed to the PING G5i putter. After reading this application and the prior art cited in the file wrapper’s IDS, I am convinced that Karsten performed a comprehensive “freedom to operate” search during development of…

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Is FootJoy the only Golf Shoe Brand that Values Intellectual Property?

The 30 most recently issued design patents directed to golf shoes (non-cleat related) have issued to Acushnet (aka FootJoy). In fact, a golf shoe related design patent hasn’t issued to anyone other than Acushnet since October 2001. The most recent Acushnet golf shoe design patent is D533,706, a figure from which is reproduced below. Surprisingly very few utility patents have recently issued on golf shoe related inventions. In …

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IP Grab of the Week: Improved Club Sole for Enhanced Elastic Deformation

This week’s “IP Grab of the Week” award goes to Nelson Precision Casting’s US patent application titled “Golf Club Head,” US Pub. No. US2007/0026961. The invention is directed to a “recessed deformation portion” of the sole that has a variable material thickness to promote elastic deformation. The disclosed “recessed deformation portion” may be incorporated into woods, irons, and utility clubs…

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10 Intellectual Property Goals for the New Year

‘Tis the season of New Year resolutions. As we all know, New Year resolutions are rarely successfully carried out past March or April. Therefore, successful companies have New Year goals, not resolutions. Such goals are infinitely more likely to be successfully implemented if they are written down in a specific quantifiable fashion. If you have specific quantifiable goals directed toward intellectual property (IP) then congratulations, you are in the minority. We have identified 10 New Year goals relating to intellectual property that each and every company should consider annually, regardless of size or industry. …

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The Golf Industry Needs More Comparative Advertising

Comparative advertising… what is that? Well, you are exposed to comparative advertising hundreds of times each day. You are influenced by it, perhaps without even noticing the influence. Some examples include… And the examples could go on and on. Therefore, surely there must be hundreds of examples of comparative advertising in the golf industry. Wrong! After flipping through my piles of …

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Golfers and Their Trademarks

Becoming a golf superstar comes with its fair share of responsibilities, including building and protecting your personal brand. Let’s take a look at what a few of the leaders are doing. Tiger Woods, more specifically his ETW Corp, have 19 registered trademarks and 11 applications. Perhaps the most famous of Tiger’s marks (the T over W design mark) being Registration Number 3127218. Next, a simple search of Greg Norman’s Great White Shark Enterprises reveals 39 records. The most interesting of Greg’s applications is the Greg Norman Signature …

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Your Famous Golf Industry Trademark May No Longer Be Entitled to Dilution Claims

The Trademark Dilution Revision Act (TDRA) of 2006 was recently passed and signed into law by President Bush. The TDRA changes many things, not the least of which is to overturn a Supreme Court trademark ruling. Perhaps the most important change to those in the golf industry is how a trademark is determined to be “famous.” The law defining what makes a mark “famous” was never clear, and the TDRA, in addition to providing that courts may consider “all relevant factors,” now provides four suggested considerations in making a determination of “fame.” These are 1) the …

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