Holy Mackerel, Could this be the Next New Titleist or Cobra Driver?

Typically when a golf club design patent issues to one of the major equipment players I expect to open it and see a club design that they introduced months ago, but not today. The US Patent and Trademark Office issues patents every Tuesday. Therefore, much of my Tuesday morning is spent reviewing the latest golf related patents, which is always entertaining but rarely do any of the patents really surprise me. Well, today I was surprised by a design patent that issued to Acushnet (a company known for great products under the Titleist and Cobra brands, but not known for wild club designs). Just check out these drawings….. Could this be the next new Titleist or Cobra driver? I can’t wait to see if this design makes it to market……

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How Well Do You Know Fairway Woods?

If you strip all the logos off a golf club head, the typical avid golfer can usually identify the manufacturer of the popular drivers… often the popular irons… and sometimes the popular
putters….. but rarely the fairway woods of the large golf companies. Can you identify the producer of this fairway wood?…..

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Callaway Hyper X and Hyper X Tour Added to the List of Clubs Accused of Infringing Acushnet’s Golf Club Patents

As you may recall from a prior post, on June 8, 2007 Callaway filed a golf club patent infringement lawsuit alleging that Acushnet has willfully infringed 5 Callaway patents. Then, as discussed in a subsequent post, on July 12, 2007 Acushnet filed their Answer to the Complaint thereby stating (i) that Acushnet does not infringe the Callaway patents and alleging that the Callaway patents are invalid, and (ii) returned the favor and accusing Callaway of infringing two of Acushnet’s patents. Callaway responded at the end of August (post here) stating that they do not infringe the Acushnet patents and allege that the Acushnet patents (7041003 and 6960142) are invalid!
Now, Acushnet has filed their Second Amended Answer (read in entirety HERE) to the Callaway Complaint…… The Second Amended Answer adds Callaway’s Hyper X and Hyper X Tour clubs to the list of allegedly infringing products and adds USPN 7140975 to the other two Acushnet patents that they accuse Callaway of infringing. If you like reading about golf club faces having non-concentric zones of differing flexural stiffness, then you will love the ‘975 patent. This leaves me asking myself….. does Callaway produce any drivers that Acushnet does not allege are infringing one of their patents, and does Acushnet produce any drivers that Callaway does not allege are infringing one of their patents?…..

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Can You Imagine Microwave Instructions on a Sleeve of Golf Balls?

Ah, the quest for the perfect golf ball. I keep looking for the one that guarantees to cut my handicap in half. No luck so far. I would never have guessed that the quest may lead me to a golf ball that I microwave to change the phase! Huh? OK, let me explain. Earlier this month Du Pont had a patent application publish titled “Phase Transition Golf Ball and Method of Use”, which caught my eye. Surely it wasn’t the compelling language of the Abstract (seen below) that piqued my interest…… It was the following….. So, do you think we will ever see one of these golf balls on the market?

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Think You Could Buy a Real Cleveland Wedge for $30? It Would be Nice, But Get Real! Cleveland Golf Sues an Alleged Counterfeiter

Last week Roger Cleveland Golf Company, Inc. filed a lawsuit against Guangdong Yuedragon Casting Company, Ltd. (“Yuedragon”) and Jack Dabing Wan (“Wan”) alleging that they produced,
sold, and shipped counterfeit Cleveland wedges to the United States. The following paragraphs from the Complaint do a good job of explaining the events that led up to the lawsuit…..Pretty amazing allegations! How fun would it be to be Cleveland’s “mystery shopper!” Click HERE to read the Complaint, and click HERE to check out the exhibits, which contains some interesting material. Another interesting golf litigation case to watch…..

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John Daly Awarded $2.7 Default Judgment Against Hippo Holdings and Sues Hippo Golf Company

Did you know that on October 17, 2007 John Daly was awarded a $2.7 million default judgment against Hippo Holdings? Unfortunately big John has not received a penny. It turns out that the tumultuous relationship between Daly and Hippo Holdings has been going on since 2000. The “catch” with the default judgment is that it was issued against Hippo Holdings, the legal entity that contracted with John. The present lawsuit asks the Court to pierce the corporate veils of Hippo Holdings and Hippo Golf and permit John to execute the judgment against Hippo Holdings on its “alter ego” Hippo Golf. The Complaint that was filed last week does a great job at summarizing the case, so click HERE to get the dirt on the Daly and Hippo relationship. You would have to be heartless to read the Complaint and not feel bad for John……

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More Patent Infringement Litigation in the Golf Industry….. West Coast Trends Inc. (aka The Makers of Club Glove Travel Bags) Sues Armor Gear for Patent Infringement

The company behind The Club Glove travel bags, which according to their website are the number one travel bags on Tour, have sued Armor Gear alleging infringement of USPN 7219902 titled “Flexible Travel Bag with Integrated Support to Protect Bag from Wear.” The Complaint alleges that Armor Gear’s Big Kahuna, Big Kahuna II, and the Rolling Sherpa IIz bags infringe the ‘902 patent. Click HERE to read the Complaint. The ’902 patent describes the invention as…..

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The IP Golf Guy Discusses “Setting Up a Small Business Intellectual Property Protection System” on the Small Business Advocate® Radio Program

I was honored to be a guest on the nationally syndicated Small Business Advocate® radio show this morning. Jim Blasingame and I discussed how a business, regardless of size, can set up a formal intellectual property protection system to capitalize on the fact that most of their value is found in intangible assets. I have been a fan of Jim’s show for close to 10 years and highly recommend it. You can listen to the interview here…..

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One More Reason to Admire Augusta National – The Trademark Portfolio

In honor of Masters’ week, a look at the trademark portfolio of Augusta National is in order. Would you have guessed that AMEN CORNER is a registered trademark? How about the fact that Augusta National has registered the AUGUSTA trademark for use associated with golf stools and chairs? And the famous map with flagstick trademark is registered for use in association with restaurant services…. and RAE’S CREEK….

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Guess How Many US Patents are Currently “In Force”?

Hello from Washington DC! I am currently attending the ABA’s 23rd Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference in Arlington, Virginia. There is nothing like a party of 600+ patent
attorneys from around the globe, although it is interfering with my blogging and coverage of The Masters! As you can imagine, these conferences are filled with great unusual statistics; one of which is the number of US patents that are currently “in force.” In other words, of the millions of US patents
that have issued, how many are currently enforceable? (i.e. in term and have had the requisite maintenance fees paid)…..

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Will the Court Order an Injunction Regarding Titleist ProV1 Golf Balls? If So, Will the Court Stay the Injunction Pending Acushnet’s Appeal?

…..(case background)….. Roughly at the same time Acushnet also wisely filed a “Contingent Motion to Stay Any Permanent Injunction Pending Appeal,” which you may review HERE. In response Callaway filed an “Opposition” (click HERE to read) to Acushnet’s “Contingent Motion to Stay Any Permanent Injunction Pending Appeal.” Now, Acushnet filed their reply titled “Acushnet’s Reply Brief in Further Support of Its Motion to Stay Any Permanent Injunction,” which may be viewed in the entirety HERE; bringing an end to this auxiliary string of filings and leaving it “ripe” for action by the court. Whew, confusing enough? I have reproduced the entire “Introduction” section of this latest filing below….. OK, so the gloves are off! (as if they have been shadow boxing for the past 2 years) If you haven’t had your fill of analysis regarding Shore D hardness values, and whether hardness should be measured on or off the ball, then I encourage you to read the entire Reply Brief. For those of you without the stomach for technical and legal word play, the “Conclusion” from the Reply Brief is reproduced below…..

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Can You Identify This Putter? Test Your Knowledge of Golf Putter Designs

Boy, a ton of putter design patents have issued recently! As you know, Golf-Patents.com has repeatedly used putter design patents to test your knowledge of putters (click here to satisfy your hunger for putter patent posts). Well this should be a relatively easy one…. How good are you at identifying a particular brand of putter when all the logos and trademarks are stripped off the club head? The figures below come from a US putter design patent that issued recently to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of putter?

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Patent Issues On The Use of Goose Droppings as Golf Tees

As you are meandering down a perfectly manicured fairway with the sun in your face and the wind at your back, all the while trying to avoid stepping on one of those huge goose turds that litter golf courses like a minefield, have you ever thought to yourself… “boy, I bet one, or perhaps two, of those delightful goose poops, would work great as a golf tee”? Well, that is just the stroke of genius that one inventor recently had and the Patent Office agreed with him. The patent, titled “Method of Using Goose Excrement as a Golf Tee,” describes the invention as…..

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