What Are The Odds of Two Golf Cleat Patent Infringement Lawsuits on the Same Day? This Time Softspikes Takes on the Makers of Champ Spikes

Amazing, I just got done posting about Trisport, Ltd. suing Greenkeepers concerning USPN 6810608 titled “Shoe Cleats.” Now, it turns out that Softspikes sued MacNeill Engineering (a.k.a. Champ Spikes) on the same day in the same court, also for golf cleat patent infringement! What are the odds? On Tuesday Softspikes sued the makers of Champ Spikes for infringement of USPN 6052923 titled “Golf Cleat” and USPN 6167641 titled “Athletic Shoe Cleat.” Click HERE to read the actual Complaint…..

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Golf Shoe Spike Patent Infringement – This Time Greenkeepers is on the Receiving End

One year ago I wrote about a golf spike patent infringement lawsuit in which Greenkeepers sued Acushnet (FootJoy) and Softspikes for alleged patent infringement of USPN 6530162 titled “Sports Shoe Cleats.” Click HERE to review the post. Interestingly, this was not the first lawsuit centered on the ‘162 patent. Yesterday Greenkeepers found themselves in a different position; namely that of a defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Trisport, Ltd. concerning USPN 6810608 titled “Shoe Cleats.” Click HERE to read the actual complaint filed in the Delaware District Court.
Would you ever have guessed that the golf shoe spike / cleat market would be so competitive and litigious? True golf equipment gear heads may be interested in learning how the Trisport Fast Twist system works. Check out the following description and drawings from the patent….. Goodness, it is getting to the point that I have a hard time keeping track of all the golf industry patent infringement lawsuits!

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The First Bounty From The Golf-Patents.com Bounty Hunter Program; A Chance to Earn $750 for Your Knowledge of Golf Clubs

I am pleased to offer the first Bounty from the Golf-Patents.com Bounty Hunter Program and hope that it is claimed. The details are as follows: Bounty: $750…. Deadline: Submissions must be received by 5:00 EST August 1, 2008 ….. Quantity: Only one bounty will be awarded. The first submission meeting the criteria herein will be awarded the bounty within 1 week of notification that that the submission met the Bounty Criteria….. The Bounty Criteria are as follows….. Good Luck!

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Get Paid for Your Knowledge of Golf Products; Introducing the Golf-Patents.com Bounty Hunter Program

Readers of the Golf-Patents blog know that there is a fair share of patent litigation in the golf industry. Further, the validity of the patent-in-suit is always brought into question, primarily by one of the parties producing prior art that was not considered by the US Patent and Trademark Office when it issued the patent. Thus, every year many illegitimate patent applications make their way through the US patent examination process without adequate review. The problem is particularly acute in the golf industry where the history of prior inventions (often called “prior art”) is widely distributed and poorly documented. In other words, a majority of golf industry prior art, whether it be clubs, balls, GPS range finders, training devices, etc. is not easily searchable in a nice library or convenient database. The reason is that a significant part of golf industry prior art consists of products that were not patented. For instance, very few, if any of the component club manufacturers patented their club designs; which often happen to be the most radical designs that gain mainstream acceptance years later. So how does a person find a component club catalog from 1982 containing a particularly relevant piece of prior art? Or how does one find that a particular golf product was sold in Japan five years before a patent application was filed in the US? The answer is the Golf-Patents.com Bounty Hunter Program. The goal of the Bounty Hunter Program is to tap into the knowledge of all hardcore golf enthusiasts and …..

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Lamkin Grips is Now in the Crosshairs of Grip Master (another golf grip patent infringement case)

Back in December I reported (click here) on a patent and trademark infringement lawsuit brought by The Grip Master Co. Pty Ltd. of Australia against TheGripMasterUSA. The patent at the center of the dispute is USPN 6449803 titled “Grip for a Handle or Shaft.” The patent is directed to an underlisting (or core) designed for wrapped grips, as seen below. Well, Grip Master obviously does not shy away from lawsuits and they have now sued Lamkin Grips alleging infringement of the same patent. Click HERE to read the actual Complaint……

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The Wealthiest Golfers Recognize the Importance of Building and Protecting Their Brand – Take a Look at The Shark’s Trademark Portfolio

Becoming a golf superstar comes with its fair share of responsibilities, including building and protecting your personal brand. The most financially successful golf celebrities know how to capitalize on their brands via trademark protection and licensing, and there is no doubt that Greg Norman is one of the best at it. A simple search of the US Trademark Office’s records reveals that Greg Norman’s Great White Shark Enterprises has 41 records with the Office, 23 of which are LIVE records. The LIVE records list includes….. So, don’t feel too bad for Greg in light of his performance on Sunday at The British Open, he is obviously a very smart and successful businessman. Just think of the advertising value that his brands received this weekend, not to mention all the exposure for MacGregor! Interestingly, Greg has his hands in everything from sunglasses and meat to grass and restaurants! Perhaps tennis equipment is next…..

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A 3rd Golf GPS Patent Infringement Lawsuit in 15 Months! This Time ABC National Television Sales is Also Thrown in the Mix

About one year ago I reported that GPS Industries and Optimal IP Holdings filed a patent infringement lawsuit against 10 defendants ….. Then, back in May I reported (see post here) that many of the defendants from the initial lawsuit also found themselves listed as defendants in another GPS patent infringement lawsuit; this time filed by Roblor Marketing Group….. Now, this week (July 16th) yet another GPS patent infringement lawsuit was filed adding two new patents to the golf GPS patent minefield; namely, USPN 5685786 titled “Passive Golf Information System and Method” and USPN 5438518 titled “Player Positioning and Distance Finding System.” This most recent lawsuit finds GPS Industries Inc. and GPS IT LLC accusing ProLink Solutions LLC, ProLink Holdings Corp., LinksCorp Inc., and ABC National Television Sales, Inc. of patent infringement. Click HERE to read the actual Complaint. Suing ABC for patent infringement! Interesting strategy. The Complaint includes the following allegations with respect to ABC…..
Fascinating litigation strategy. I wonder if ABC will put any pressure on the ProLink Defendants to make this lawsuit go away…..

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The Strike N Swipe Patent Application Publishes

Remember the Strike N Swipe reusable impact tape from The Golf Channel’s “Fore Inventors Only” show? If not, check out the impressive Strike N Swipe website, complete with David Leadbetter endorsement. In my prior posts (here, and here) I affectionately referred to the product as the million dollar reusable impact tape because on the show the inventor explained that he had almost one million dollars invested in the product (which blew me away). The following was my review of the Strike N Swipe from the very first episode….. Then, the Big Break Contestants provided their thoughts on the product during the 4th episode….. So, why the walk down memory lane? A few weeks ago the Strike N Swipe patent application published as US Pub. No. 20080153617 titled “Sports Impact Point Indicator.” The application describes the invention as….. Boy, a few of those extreme heel impacts look like they were taken right from my clubs!…..

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Bridgestone Hosel Bling! What Are They Thinking

Have you ever thought to yourself….. my “hosel does not have any gorgeousness or sumptuousness?” Gorgeousness.…. Sumptuousness….. What! (apparently some words don’t translate well, who knew) A few weeks ago a Bridgestone patent application published as US Pub. No. 20080153622 titled “Golf Club Head Having Decorated Hosel and Golf Club Using Same” and it left me thinking to myself…. “this is so bizarre that I must not be smart enough to appreciate the genius of it!” The application explains….. I would love to see Freddie Couples show up at a Major with his clubs sporting this hosel bling!

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How’s Your Golf Posture? This Invention May Help You Improve It

Yet another interesting golf training device patent application. Boy, they are a dime a dozen; and I, like most golfers, would try almost anything to improve my game. The invention disclosed in the application that published as US Pub. No. 20080146364 titled “Device for Correcting Golf Swing Posture” is unlike most training aids in that it is directed to the lower body. The application describes the invention as….
I am not totally convinced that this invention would help my game, but I would give it a try.

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Five Odyssey Putters Come Under Fire in an IP Infringement Lawsuit

Ever heard of EZ Line Putters? Me neither, although I have to admit…. they look pretty nice. Plus, EZ Line Putter owns USPN 4962927 titled “Putter Head.” So, which Odyssey putters have come under fire? Well, the Odyssey White Hot XG #7 putter, the Odyssey White Hot XG #7 Long putter, the Odyssey Black Series I #7 putter, and the Odyssey White Hot Sabertooth putter have been accused of infringing the ‘927 patent. Plus, the White Hot XG Marxman Blade putter is the subject of trade dress infringement and unfair competition claims. The ‘927 patent describes the putter as….

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A Mizuno Golf Ball Design Patent Issues…. Do They Even Sell Golf Balls?

As I have mentioned in the past, design patents directed to golf balls are not very common, and design patents directed to a particular dimple design are even more rare. Well, last week Mizuno had an interesting golf ball design patent issue; namely USPN D572322 titled “Golf Ball.” Check out these figures from the patent…….. Frankly, I did not even know that Mizuno was in the golf ball business, and you would never know it from the Mizuno Golf website. Interestingly, Mizuno has received at least 10 US patents directed to golf ball patents in the past 3 years. Additionally, Mizuno does have over 20 golf balls listed in the USGA records of conforming golf balls. Interesting! Is this a sign of things to come? If so, hopefully it will bring down the price of golf balls.

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Club Face Adjustability, Is It The Next Big Thing?

Almost a year ago I published a post on what may be the next step in club head adjustability; namely, coefficient of restitution (COR) adjustability, or the ability to adjust the stiffness of club’s face. Interested? The prior post posed the following hypothetical: Perhaps you really loosen up the face during your practice rounds to gain a few extra yards and carry those fairway bunkers, then turn around the next day and bring it back into USGA conformance for the club championship. It doesn’t sound too realistic, but then again… ten years ago a square driver might not have seemed very realistic. The same could be said for 460 cc club heads and titanium faced irons….. The latest patent describes the invention as ….. Obviously Acushnet feels there might be something to this technology. I can’t wait to see when, or if, it makes it to market!

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The Swiss Army Knife of Golf Inventions

How many possible uses for a “portable golf caddy” can you think of? Perhaps two or three? Well, a recently published patent application discloses a “portable golf caddy” invention that has at least 10 different uses. While I can’t imagine ever purchasing the device, it is the type of gift that you may receive from the non-golfer in your life (so there may be a market for it). The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20080146367 titled “Portable Golf Caddy” and describes the invention as…. Check out these drawings!…..

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Another Putter Design Patent….. Can You Identify This Putter? A Tough One

How good are you at identifying a particular brand of putter when all the logos and trademarks are stripped off the club head? I was starting to think that I was pretty good at it until coming across USPN D571878 titled “Golf Putter Head.” The figures below come from the ‘878 patent that issued recently to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of putter?

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ProV1 Litigation Update – Callaway Responds With Their Own Letter to the Court

As I reported earlier this week (read post HERE), a recent letter from Acushnet’s attorney to the Court provided a nice status report regarding the reexamination progress. Well, Callaway did not let any grass grow under their feet before filing their own letter to the Court providing a different view of the situation. Enjoy….. Oh, if we only knew how much money has been spent on this lawsuit!

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Don’t Use the Ryder Cup® Trademark Without Approval of the PGA of America; They Will Sue!

An interesting golf trademark infringement lawsuit was filed this week. The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (The PGA of America) sued Scottish Golf Holidays for the unauthorized use of the RYDER CUP registered trademark. In fact, this is the second time The PGA of America has sued Scottish Golf Holidays in one year!
Click HERE to review the actual Complaint. I have reproduced majority of the sections below….. Wow, is that a Complaint or what! So, did you have any idea that The PGA of America has over 28,000 golf professionals? I would never have guessed that high! PS – Because the PGA did not use one particular Ohio IP attorney (known to love golf) as local counsel to file this Complaint right in his back yard…. I vow that once my game finally comes around, I will not join The PGA of America! Since I have been waiting 25 years for my game to come around, perhaps they should not be too concerned about the risk of losing this unlikely member!

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Remember the Golf Ball Gun from “Fore Inventors Only” Fame?

Ahh, the good old days…. Remember that crazy golf ball gun from the “Fore Inventors Only” show that looked as if Stina broke her hand when she fired it? Here is my review from my prior post….. Frankly, I recall being surprised that he had a patent application filed on the launcher. So, imagine how surprised I was to see another patent application recently publish on the invention. The most recent application published as US Pub. No. 20080099004 titled “Pressurized Air Shooting Device” and describes the invention as….. So, do you think this inventor will ever recoup his investment in two patent applications? I have to admit that it would be kind of fun to take one of these out on the course; that is until the Ranger noticed and banned me from the course for life.

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ProV1 Patent Litigation Update – Will Any of the Patents-in-Suit Survive Reexamination?

The Callaway v. Titleist (Acushnet) golf ball battle has been pending for a couple of years now, so a quick refresher is in order….. You may recall that all four of the patents-in-suit are currently being re-examined by the USPTO, and things were not going well for the validity of the patents before the USPTO (recall, the jury already found majority of the claims valid). Now, for the update…… A recent letter from Acushnet’s attorney to the Court provides a nice status report regarding the reexamination progress….. Click HERE to read the actual letter. I predict that I will be reporting on this case for at least 2 more years! Hard to believe?

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