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Today Chris Henry, of the EagleParBirdie blog, has posted a great audio interview on the topic of The Golf Patent Game. The interview is so insightful that it had me on the edge of my seat. It might be his best interview yet. I simply could not get enough. OK, I may be exaggerating a little… after all I am the one being interviewed. Nonetheless, if you like the Golf-Patents blog then you will enjoy the interview. Chris Henry always conducts a great interview. I encourage you to check it out…

As you may know, the claims of a patent are the most important part of a patent. It is the claims that spell out what the invention is and what the patent legally covers. In fact, the claims are so important that when a patent lawyer drafts a patent application they will typically spend at least 50% of their time drafting the claims. It takes hours to get the claims just right. This week a golf related patent application published with a rather interesting claim. The claim in US Publication No. 2007/0082752 is apparently directed to a groove design…

For the second straight week FootJoy was granted three golf shoe design patents, including one directed to the FootJoy ReelFit lacing system. This week’s FootJoy patents include USPN D540,012 titled “Golf Shoe Outsole,” USPN D540,020 titled “Golf Shoe Upper,” and USPN D540,026 titled “Golf Shoe Saddle.” … I suspect that FootJoy has also applied for utility patent protection on their ReelFit lacing system…

As a prior explains, very few intellectual property litigation cases actually make it all the way through trial. Majority are either settled by the parties or dismissed by the court for one reason or another. However, when a case does make it to trial the stakes can be huge. Check out the size of these awards… Fortunately, none of these verdicts are against companies in the golf industry. I, like most golfers, would prefer that golf companies spend their money on more R&D for innovative products rather than battling each other in court. Surprisingly there is…

Chris Henry, of the EagleParBirdie blog has posted 2 great audio interviews (April 5th and 6th) with the former USGA technical director Frank Thomas. Frank weighs in on topics ranging from recent USGA groove rule changes to an interesting history of the “spring” effect associated with driver faces. Frank is definitely an interesting outspoken golfer that enjoys sharing his opinion on what is wrong (and right) about the game of golf and the USGA. I encourage you to listen to these interviews…

The April issue of the ABA Journal contained some interesting intellectual property litigation statistics. The statistics are directed to intellectual property civil suits filed in 2002, in light of the fact that it generally takes several years before a case makes it to trial (unless you are in a rocket docket jurisdiction). There were 7445 civil intellectual property suits in 2002, a whopping 140 of which were resolved with a trial verdict. That means only 1.9% of intellectual property lawsuits actually make it all the way through trial. Of the 140 cases that went to trial the …

To follow up on a recent post regarding golf CLUB trademark filings, this post regarding golf BALL trademark applications is in order. As expected, Callaway leads the pack, followed by Bridgestone, Taylor Made, Nike, and Acushnet. What is your favorite golf ball product name? My top 5 include Rebel, Tetra, Exception, Commando, and Tour Fire…

Readers of this blog may have realized that I love snooping around to see what golf club manufacturers are up to regarding intellectual property protection. In a prior post I discuss monitoring federal trademark applications to provide insight into what your competitors may be planning in terms of new products. Additionally, since recent posts have discussed golf ball and club patents that issued in 2006, as well as application that published in 2006, a look at the golf club giants’ 2006 trademark filings is in order. As expected, Callaway leads the pack, followed by Karsten, … check out my top 5 list of anticipated golf club product names …

A prior post addressed the number of golf ball related patents that issued in 2006 for the giants. Now, let’s look at the number of patent applications that published in 2006 for the same companies. Bridgestone leads the pack. This shows that Bridgestone and Callaway are hot on the heels of Acushnet. Bridgestone and Callaway obviously want to increase the size of their slice of the golf ball market pie. And what’s up with Nike?…

A prior post addressed the number of golf club related patents that issued in 2006 for the giants. Now, let’s look at the number of patent applications that published in 2006 for the same companies. Callaway remains the clear leader but surprisingly Taylor Made almost dropped off the map after …

Once again, the numbers don’t lie. Acushnet clearly dominates the field, followed by Bridgestone, Callaway, and a distant Wilson and Taylor Made. Nike rounds out the field with a big fat zero.

The numbers tell the story. Callaway leads the pack followed by Nike, Karsten, Acushnet, and Taylor Made …

Nelson Precision Casting’s patents and patent applications have been a frequent topic on this blog. Club manufacturers, regardless of physical location, better keep an eye on Nelson’s rapidly growing patent portfolio because they are positioning themselves to have a portfolio that blocks all other club manufacturers from using advanced manufacturing technologies. US club designers may feel that this is a topic that doesn’t touch them, but this could not be further from the truth and their opinion will undoubtedly change as soon as Nelson sues one of them for patent infringement related selling clubs manufactured using one of Nelson’s …

BrandWeek recently published a great article titled “Team Colors? Meet The Team Of Lawyers.” The article points our that college licensing departments are on the warpath and are successfully convincing courts that distinctive college colors, such as scarlet and grey, have developed secondary meaning. Everyone involved in product development (whether it be clubs, shafts, bags, or shoes) should read this short article and keep it in mind when selecting colors for golf products…

Logos play an important part in marketing and brand recognition in the golf industry. Take, for example, Nike’s “Swoosh,” Callaway’s “V,” or King Cobra’s “Snake Wearing a Crown.” These golf logos have become immediately recognizable as identifying the source of particular goods and services. Typically, companies will invest a lot of capital developing a flashy or eye-catching logo in order to build strong brand recognition. However, in building this brand recognition, companies, especially small businesses, may sometimes overlook the importance of protecting their logos through the trademark registration process…

What a week for the Acushnet intellectual property department. On Tuesday Acushnet had two golf club utility patents issue, one golf club design patent issue, and one golf ball utility patent issue…

If you are thinking about starting up a new golf business or introducing a new golf product or service to the market, one of the last things you may have considered is seeking trademark protection for the name of your business, product or service. However, the importance of selecting a trademark cannot be emphasized enough. Often times the trademark you choose will play a role in shaping the consumer’s first impression of the product or service offered by your company. Just consider my previous post regarding Golf Digest® magazine’s article on the best golf course logos (but keep in mind …

On May 11, 2006 US patent application serial number 11/432190 titled “Flavored Golf Tee” was filed on behalf of inventors Brandon Willis and Jonathon David Abbott. Amazing! It will be interesting to see if a patent issues (if so, I have a great idea related to flavored pencils). As a side note, I do not know if this application is associated with the commercially available “patent pending” Tasty Golf Tees. Boy, golfers love the game!…

Nelson Precision Casting has received a lot of mentions on this blog for a company that I had not even heard of three months ago. Today Nelson continued their golf club head manufacturing patent streak with USPN 7,186,191 titled “Method of Making a Golf Club Head Having a Brazed Striking Plate.” The ‘191 patent is directed to a method of brazing the striking plate of a club head to the body of the club head. Most people do not appreciate the potential power wielded by method of manufacturing patents. For instance, sure the ‘191 patent doesn’t …

The technology applied to golf club shafts is fascinating. Unique materials, innovative manufacturing processes. Therefore, one would expect to find lots of utility patents directed to shaft technology. This is not the case. My research indicates that only two utility patents issued in 2006 directed exclusively to shafts, with only a handful of others directed to sets of shafts, assembly methods, shaft extractors, and the like. I found this very surprising and suspect it is only a matter of time before one of the golf club / ball giants enters the shaft business. Check out the …

I deal with a lot of businesses, including many small businesses and golf businesses. This gives me an opportunity to observe many amazing things. For instance, most companies have a written procedure regarding who may approve Purchase Order over a specific dollar amount. Further, almost all employees know who within any given organization is authorized to sign contracts. BUT, I estimate that over 50% of companies to not have a formal process regarding the creation, protection, and enforcement of intellectual property, whether it’s patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, customers lists, marketing strategies, etc… This is particularly true in companies that …

I was a guest on the Small Business Advocate radio show this morning. Jim Blasingame and I discussed the fact that IP protection is not just for the big businesses. In fact, IP protection is often what distinguishes successful small businesses from those that fail. You may listen to the interview here. …

OK, by now you must think that I am getting kick backs from PING. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth, as I do not even know anyone that works at Karsten. Plus, an Odyssey putter calls my bag home. The PING G5i putter just keeps coming up as a good example to illustrate various aspects of IP protection. In the past I have posted comments on a Karsten published application directed to the G5i face insert and a Karsten published application directed to the G5i alignment system and geometry, which it turns out …

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 …

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) …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A colleague of mine recently wrote an excellent article on willful patent infringement and the effects of patent counsel opinions, as well as potential waiver of privilege issues. Recently many in-house counsel changed their patent infringement opinion practices in light of the “no adverse inference” decision in Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH v. Dana Corp. In fact, some commentators have suggested that the Knorr-Bremse decision would result in fewer accused infringers seeking an opinion of counsel to defend against a charge of willful infringement. However, recent decisions show that a competent and timely sought opinion of …

Manufacturers that find themselves listed on the USGA Non-conforming Drivers List should be proud of this accomplishment. After all, manufacturers don’t make the List by designing boring “status quo” clubs. It is the manufacturers that push the envelope who end up on the List…

Design patents are often viewed as the ugly cousin of utility patents. Many people only consider applying for a design patent if a utility patent is unlikely. Such old school beliefs are a mistake. Design patents can be extremely valuable in protecting unique club heads. Interestingly, some equipment manufacturers embrace this belief, while others seem to be in denial. Further, others seem to only file for design patent protection on wood club heads, not irons…

The risk of intellectual property litigation in the golf industry is as high, or higher, than the risk in the “generic” average business. Further, face it … intellectual property litigation is expensive. In fact, the American Intellectual Property Law Association indicates that the average cost to litigate a patent infringement suit is in excess of $1 million! That considered, how many of golf industry product producers have intellectual property insurance? Very few (I suspect). Yet, these same producers would laugh at a person that would dare suggest that the producer doesn’t need insurance on their building, …

This week’s “IP Grab of the Week” award goes to Nelson Precision Casting’s U.S. patent application titled “Manufacturing Method for a Composite Striking Plate of a Golf Club Head,” US Pub. No. US2007/0017084. The application indicates that there are many drawbacks of associated with joining striking plates to club heads using conventional explosion welding…

If you want to stay on top of what is happening in the golf industry then you simply must sign up for the free daily newsletter The Wire published by the Golf Press Association. It is outstanding.

How valuable is a patent on a golf product that does not conform to the USGA Rules? Perhaps as valuable as the recycling value of the paper that it is printed on? Don’t tell that to Mr. Cooper of Tulsa; inventor of the Shock-Dampening Golf Club Grip (published this week as U.S. Pub. No. 2007/0021232). The independent claim of the application reads: …

Joseph Hosteny… have you heard of him? Mr. Hosteny regularly publishes articles in the Litigator’s Corner section of Intellectual Property Today magazine. I am a fan of Mr. Hosteny because his articles go right to the point and do not mince words, which has probably made him the enemy of many IP lawyers. In the December 2006 issue Mr. Hosteny published an article titled Mega-Firms: The Mega-Headache. It would be a disservice to my readers if I tried to summarize the 2 page article, therefore let me just say that it …

The sweet sound of a swing, a club striking a ball, the ball landing on a green, and eventually the ball dropping into the cup. Sounds so distinctive that they often conjure up great memories for the avid golfer. Perhaps that perfect 4-iron that rolled one in from 200 yards, or that 9-iron to the island green. Guess what, these sounds are also so distinctive that manufacturers want consumers to associate their goods with the sounds. Thus, we look at an often overlooked aspect of federal trademark protection; namely the protection of sounds and smells. …

The “IP Grab of the Week” category highlights interesting attempts to own broad intellectual property rights in golf related technology. A category post will typically highlight a recently published patent application attempting to secure ownership of unique and interesting golf related intellectual property. In some cases it will apparent that the applicant is asking way more than they will ever receive in an issued patent (i.e. ridiculously broad claims), whereas in other cases the post will highlight a proposed claim that would shake the industry if it issued. Therefore, some posts will result in …

Bridgestone Sports had four golf ball related patent applications publish this week (January 18, 2007). US Pub. No. US2007/0015602 is very interesting (although few men would admit to making golf ball purchasing decisions based upon a distinctive “stylish” appearance). Check out claim 1: 1. A golf ball comprising a solid core of at least one layer and a cover of at least one layer, which golf ball is characterized in that the solid core or an inner cover layer adjacent to an outer cover layer has a color difference ∆E with …

The Golf Channel is looking for the “next big thing in golf.” It sounds like a golf spin-off of the American Inventor TV show. You can learn more about the competition here. Please review the FAQ’s regarding patents before you enter the competition. Kudos Golf Channel! …

The January 2007 edition of Golf Digest® magazine has a nice two page spread (pages 54-55) on the best and worst golf course logos. Few golfers would disagree that the Augusta National logo is the most well known golf course trademark. After all, most golfers associate a variation of it with the Masters Golf Tournament. Personally, I would have placed the Winged Foot logo in the worst logo list rather than the best logo category. My favorite logo award goes to Sand Hills in Mullen …

Two interesting golf ball patents issued this week (January 16, 2007), one assigned to Acushnet and the other to Taylor Made Golf. Acushnet’s new patent is USPN 7,163,472 titled “Golf Ball Dimples With A Catenary Curve Profile.” The ‘472 patent is directed to a ball with dimples defined by the revolution of a catenary curve about its symmetrical axis. The ‘472 patent is well written and deserves reading, not to mention it will refresh your memory regarding hyperbolic sine and cosine functions. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this patent is the prosecution history. The …

This is the first post of many on the USGA’s “A Guide To the Rules on Clubs and Balls.” The Guide is available online; however a printed copy should be on the desk of everyone involved in ball and club design. The USGA should be commended on the Guide as it is extremely well written and contains commentary and numerous illustrations explaining the rules. It is the “Introduction” that is the focus of this post. Particularly, the following sentence: While not wishing to stifle innovation, the purpose of the equipment Rules is …

The Trademark Branding Cap blog recently published two good posts on monitoring your competitors’ trademark filings to forecast new product launches and marketing campaigns. The first post provides an example search that you could run every month to monitor your main competitors. The second post goes a little deeper into trademark competitive analysis. Let’s imagine you are a club manufacturer and you want check out your competitors’ trademark filings in December 2006. Simply go to the USPTO advanced trademark search page, insert the following in the dialogue box, and press the “submit query” button. …

For calendar year 2005, there were sixty-four patents granted on putter related inventions. Of the sixty-four patents granted, thirty-seven of them were design patents, while twenty-seven were utility patents. However, this simple statistic does not tell the whole story. Very few manufacturers would ever admit that a putter’s design is simply ornamental, or that it was designed merely to be aesthetically pleasing. According to most manufacturers, the design of their putters is attributable to a functional performance improvement that is only found in their product. Therefore I suspect that at least 50% of the …

My first substantive post… not too serious, yet educational and informative. A historic look at patents covering the classic putters that we all know and love. Notice that these classics were all protected by utility patents, in addition to design patents. A future post will more closely examine putter patents and whether more are filed as utility applications or design applications.This patented putter got the ball rolling for what would eventually become the Ping Golf Company. The late Karsten Solheim filed a patent application covering the PING 1A putter on March 23, 1959, which eventually issued as U.S. Pat. No. …

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