Nike Golf Sued for Patent Infringement by Saso Golf

On Friday February 22nd Saso Golf filed a patent infringement complaint in the Northern District of Illinois alleging that Nike has infringed two Saso golf club patents; namely USPN 5645495 and USPN 6620055, both simply titled “Golf Club.” Click HERE to read the Complaint. It should be interesting to see how this one plays out!

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Acushnet Responds to Callaway’s Motion for Permanent Injunction… Unfortunately, it is Not Accessible to the Public!

Those following the contentious Titleist ProV1 golf ball patent infringement lawsuit may have known that yesterday was Acushnet’s deadline to file their “Answering Brief” in response to Callaway’s Motion for a Permanent Injunction (click here to review). Boy, I was looking forward to some good reading material; unfortunately, 9 of the 10 filings made with the court yesterday have been filed under “seal” with the label “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – OUTSIDE COUNSELS’ EYES ONLY.” In other words, not only can the public not see the documents, Acushnet does not want Callaway’s in-house lawyers to have access to the documents! In the big picture, this is not unusual; just disappointing because the filings probably contain from fascinating information. I am not familiar with Judge Robinson’s local rules regarding the filing of “redacted” versions of “sealed” documents, but it appears that most of the documents filed under “seal” in this case have been supplemented with a “redacted” version of the “sealed” document within 7-10 days. I will let you know if “redacted” documents are filed. Callaway now has until March 6th to file their Reply Brief (which hopefully will not be filed under seal).

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Finally, A “Smart Golf Ball”!

Time to brush-up on your knowledge of ferrofluids, magnetorheological fluids, inverse magnetorheological fluids, and magnetorheological elastomers. Today a patent application published with the title “adaptive golf ball,” and describes the invention as a “smart golf ball.” OK, that got my attention. It just so happens I have been looking for a ball that can predict when I am going to hit it off the toe and then adjust accordingly. Well, come to find out… the ball disclosed in US Pub. No. 20080045358 isn’t quite as smart as I was hoping for. Oh well, how fun would golf really be if you were always in the middle of the fairway? The patent application describes the invention as…… What is so “smart” about this ball? Well, the following paragraphs from the application do a good job of explaining the concept……. Sound too good to be true?

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How Well Do You Know Irons?

Ready to test your iron knowledge? No worries, this test should be easy for the avid golfer (or anyone with good analytical skills… i.e. there is a hint in the drawing). The figure below comes from a US golf club iron head design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of irons?……….

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The Continued Quest to Prevent Hosel Rockets

Every golfer has at some point suffered from a case of the shanks. I know that I do at least twice a season. Judging from number of off-set wedge related patents I would say that golfers spend a lot of time thinking about how it must be a problem with the clubs; surely not the swing! I previously posted an overview of a lot of clubs directed at curing the shanks (click HERE to read). Recently a patent application published directed to another seemingly shank-resistant club. Check out these figures from US Pub. No. 20080026867 titled “Golf Club.”…….

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Clubs That I Want for My Collection

I like to collect odd golf clubs. Not necessarily ones that perform particularly well; just unique clubs, most commonly odd looking clubs (shape and material). I am looking for the following clubs… right handed… condition is not critical, but they have to be able to be hit. If you have any of the clubs on my list, please shoot me an email with a photo of the club and the price. Thanks. (perhaps some day I can auction off my collection, but my auction will most likely be in the form of a garage sale rather than one at a fancy auction house)
Pre-1950: a) any metal woods, any condition, but under $150; Early 1960’s:
a) PING 1 Iron; Late 1960’s: a) Centurion Driver (the triangular or rectangular versions); Early 1990’s: a) GolfWorks Super Jumbo Straight Shooter Driver (I have found memories of seeing one of these and thinking “no one will ever buy a club with a head that big”), b) Spalding Thunder Heat Driver, c) Wilson Killer Whale Driver with Graphite Face, d) Yonex ADX 300 Driver, e) Bullet Golf Ball Company Hollow Point Driver (horseshoe shaped); Late 1990’s:
a) Accuform Golf’s “Whistler” Driver (apparently one of the earlier “geometric” drivers). Thanks.

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Valentine’s Day Special: The “Sweetheart Putter”

Last Valentine’s Day I wrote about a golf ball with heart shaped dimples (click here). Ahh, so sappy and sweet! I have been keeping a published patent application a secret just for a Valentine’s Day post; or more appropriate, I doubt anyone was looking for it. Nonetheless, the application title “Sweetheart Putter” got my attention. The following figure comes from published application US Pub. No. 20080009361……. Interesting design…. I am guessing this one will be marketed to the ladies!

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The Driver Recognition Test of the Day… Can You Identify This Driver?

Marketing types always say… it is all about brand recognition. I suppose “brand recognition” is slightly different than “design patent drawing recognition,” (ok, more than slightly) but they are not entirely unrelated. The following drawings come from a driver design patent that issued today to one of the big guys. Do you recognize this club?……. So, does this club have good brand recognition?

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Last Week I Posted About a Fluid-Filled Bladder Golf Club Patent Application… This Week a Patent Issues on a Remarkably Similar Design… Turns Out That Smart Inventors Do Think Alike

Last week I posted about an interesting Nike patent application directed to golf clubs incorporating a fluid-filled bladder. Imagine my surprise this week when a patent issued to Fu Sheng Industrial, the world’s largest OEM manufacturer of golf club heads, directed to a remarkably similar design. The Fu Sheng patent is USPN 7326127 titled “Golf Club Head with Gas Cushion.” Check out these drawings from the patent…… Compare the Fu Sheng patent (USPN 7326127 titled “Golf Club Head with Gas Cushion”) to Nike’s published application (US Pub. No. 20080015050 titled “Golf Clubs and Golf Club Heads Having Fluid-Filled Bladders and/or Interior Chambers”). Turns out that great minds do think alike. Looks like we probably will see a club make it to market with a fluid-filled bladder.

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What Gets the Testosterone Flowing on the Golf Course? (A) Hit a 300+ Yard Drive, (B) Make a Hole-in-One, or (C) Hop on Your Golf Scooter (that has “balance wheels’”) and Scurrying Around the Course

I didn’t think last week’s post regarding the 3-wheeled bag-riding golf cart could be outdone, but boy was I wrong. Last week an amazing patent issued titled “Collapsible Golf Scooter Cart Having Fold Out Balance Wheels” (USPN 7322434). A what? A golf scooter! Check out this drawing of the scooter……. How would you feel cruising around the course on this beauty?

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Can You Identify These Irons? (from a major manufacturer, yet I bet you can’t identify them)

The Golf-Patents blog has tested your knowledge of iron club head design in the past. Today, let’s see if you can identify another set of irons. For frequent readers of this blog, I rate the level of difficulty of this one as ridiculously difficult. Good luck.
The figures below come from a US golf club iron head design patent that issued today to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of irons?….

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If I Gave You a High Surface Friction Golf Ball Would You Expect More Spin or Less Spin When You Hit it With a Wedge? How About When Struck With Your Driver?

High surface friction golf balls… more spin or less spin? Would it make any difference whether you hit the ball with a wedge or a driver? Interesting questions, right? Well a recently published Acushnet patent application provides us with the answer. The published patent application is US Pub. No. 20080015055 titled “Golf Ball Having High Surface Friction.” Before I give you the answer, here is an interesting little bit of trivia disclosed in the patent application……. Now, for the real analytical type of golfer that may want to know more about what is meant by coefficient of friction (COF), the application explains……. And now, the answer to the questions asked above……

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A Post About Fluid-Filled Bladders

If I searched patents for the term “fluid-filled bladder”… the last thing I would expect to find would be a patent application for golf irons! But that is exactly what I stumbled across recently. More specifically, it was a published patent application directed to a Nike Slingshot design containing a fluid-filled bladder. The application published as US Pub. No. 20080015050 with the title “Golf Clubs and Golf Club Heads Having Fluid-Filled Bladders and/or Interior Chambers.” The application describes the invention as…… So what fills the fluid-filled chamber? The application states that it could be filled with air, inert gases, or liquids. Check out these figures from the application…….
It will be interesting to see if a patent issues from this application, and whether such a product ever makes it to market…..

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How Would You Like the Opportunity to Ride Your Golf Bag Around the Course?

Another golf invention that words just don’t do justice! Check out these figures……… The drawings come from a recently published patent application US Pub. No. 20080023236 titled “Combined Golf Caddie And Golf Cart.”
Am I nuts, or wasn’t there some problems with the roll-over potential of 3-wheel ATV’s on uneven terrain? Surely that won’t be an issue for this invention….. (I mean it looks pretty stable, right?)

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