A Battle of the Spikes; Yet Another Golf Shoe Spike Patent Infringement Battle

The intrigue of a good golf shoe cleat lawsuit reads like a fine mystery novel. Laughable? Not so, the latest battle FlatSpikes takes on SoftSpikes contains all sorts of interesting allegations!

Many golfers would be surprised by the amount of litigation concerning patents on golf shoe spikes; just check out these prior posts (post 1, post 2, post 3).

Check out the following interesting parts from the Complaint that was filed on Tuesday:

16.    Upon information and belief, in 1984, Mr. Curley began work on an index cleat design for Spotbuilt, one of the largest suppliers of baseball shoes in the United States.
17.     Upon information and belief, an index cleat, as known in the athletic shoe industry is a cleat that when attached to a shoe possesses a specific orientation along an axis and therefore does not allow for rotational symmetry.
18.    Upon information and belief, an index cleat requires some type of attachment means, wherein the attachment means possesses a specific function and has the ability to orient the cleat in a specific rotational direction.
19.    Upon information and belief, Mr. Curley participated in the design and development of a baseball cleat for Spotbuilt that included both a spike and bayonet attachment system that allowed the user to orient the cleat in six rotational positions.
20.    Upon information and belief, in 1985, Mr. Curley began work on attachment means, known as the “receptacle”, for FootJoy, one of the largest suppliers of golf cleat shoes and golf cleats in the United States.
21.    Upon information and belief, the “receptacle” is a preferred attachment means for an index cleat since an over-center hinged asymmetrical cleat would have to be oriented along the longitudinal axis of the receptacle.
22.    Upon information and belief, from 1989-1990, Mr. Curley began Director of design and development for FootJoy, where Mr. Curley continued his work on index cleats focusing on a snap-lock receptacle system incorporating the properties of the index cleats previously developed by Mr. Curley.
23.    Upon information and belief, in 1997, Mr. Curley began work on the “Manta” spike, which was an improved index cleat design that included a directionally oriented receptacle and an asymmetrical traction surface.
24.    Upon information and belief, in 1998, Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES, Mr. Curley’s
business venture, were optioned by Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, to create an index cleat design that would work with Softspikes, Inc. “Fast Twist” attachment means system.
25.    Upon information and belief, Mr. Curley development an index cleat design that included a visual aid system of progressive indexing notches to help an individual properly orient the spike during installation.
26.    Upon information and belief, on July 20, 1998, Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES disclosed certain proprietary information to Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, under a Non-Disclosure Agreement, shown as Exhibit 2.
27.     Upon information and belief, on July 20, 1998, Mr. Curley disclosed the “Manta” spike project which consisted of an indexed spike cleat and an indexed spike attachment means, among other documents, shown as Exhibit 3.
28.     Upon information and belief, on July 20, 1998, Mr. Curley disclosed multiple patent applications covering the “Manta” spike project to Softspikes, Inc, the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES.
29.    Upon information and belief, in August 1999, Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES were in the process of completing a sale of certain intellectual property to Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, including the “Manta” project among other property.
30.    Upon information and belief, in August 1999, Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, asked Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES to redesign the index cleat first disclosed in July 1998 in preparation for a meeting with FootJoy in September 1999.
31.    Upon information and belief, in August 1999, Mr. Curley gave an extensive presentation disclosing numerous drawings and video displays to Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, concerning a re-designed index cleat focusing on the original “Manta” design.
32.    Upon information and belief, on October 6, 1999, Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES completed an asset purchase sale agreement, in which Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, purchased certain intellectual property from Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES, including the “Manta” index cleat design.
33.    Upon information and belief, in January 2000, Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES began to design an improved “Manta” index cleat to work with the “Fast Twist” attachment means utilized by Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES.
34.    Upon information and belief, in January 2000, Mr. Curley developed a visual marking system for the improved “Manta” index cleat to work in conjunction with the “Fast Twist” attachment means utilized by Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES.
35.    Upon information and belief, in August 2000, Mr. Curley prepared a large portfolio of designs in multiple media formats relating to the index cleat design in response to a request by Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, in preparation for a meeting with FootJoy.
36.    Upon information and belief, Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, presented Mr. Curley’s proprietary information, including the index cleats to Foot Joy, a leader in the golf shoe industry.
37.     Upon information and belief, Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, informed Mr. Curley that FootJoy was not interested in index cleat systems and designs, and that FootJoy would not use an index cleat system on their shoes.
38.     Upon information and belief, on July 16, 2002 Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, filed a patent application which described Mr. Curley’s index cleat design, entitled “Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” listing McMULLIN as inventor.
39.    Upon information and belief, Mr. Curley is an inventor of the patent application entitled “Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” and should have been listed on the application.
40.    Upon information and belief, Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, breached its duty of disclosure to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by failing to list and identify Mr. Curley as an inventor of the patent application entitled “Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction”.
41.    Upon information and belief, on August 27, 2002 Softspikes, Inc. filed a patent application which described Mr. Curley’ s index cleat design, entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” listing McMULLIN as inventor.
42.    Upon information and belief, Mr. Curley is an inventor of the patent application entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Tr
action” and should have been listed on the application.
43.     Upon information and belief, Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, breached its duty of disclosure to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by failing to list and identify Mr. Curley as an inventor of the patent application entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction”.
44.    Upon information and belief, on January 22, 2003, Pride Manufacturing Company, LLC. assumed ownership of Sports Holding, Inc. a corporate entity which included Softspikes, Inc, the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES.
45.    Upon information and belief, following the acquisition of Sports Holding, Inc., Pride Manufacturing, LLC began doing business as PrideSports.
46.    Upon information and belief, following the acquisition of Sports Holding, Inc., Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, was reorganized as a division of PRIDE, altered in corporate structure and identity and thus became Softspikes LLC.
47.    Upon information and belief, on July 1, 2003 SOFTSPIKES filed a patent application which described Mr. Curley’ s index cleat design, entitled “Eccentric Footwear Cleat” listing McMULLIN as inventor.
48.    Upon information and belief, Mr. Curley is an inventor of the patent application entitled “Eccentric Footwear Cleat” and should have been listed on the application.
49.    Upon information and belief, SOFTSPIKES breached its duty of disclosure to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by failing to list and identify Mr. Curley as an inventor of the patent application entitled “Eccentric Footwear Cleat”.
50.     Upon information and belief, on July 1, 2003 SOFTSPIKES filed a patent application which described Mr. Curley’s index cleat design, entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” listing McMULLIN as inventor.
51.    Upon information and belief, Mr. Curley is an inventor of the patent application entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” and should have been listed on the application.
52.    Upon information and belief, SOFTSPIKES breached its duty of disclosure to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by failing to list and identify Mr. Curley as an inventor of the patent application entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction”.
53.    Upon information and belief, on June 14, 2004, U.S. Pat No. 6,904,707 (hereinafter “the ‘707 Patent”) entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” issued to SOFTSPIKES. A true and correct copy of the ‘707 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit 4.
54.    Upon information and belief, on August 31, 2004, U.S. Pat No. D495,122 (hereinafter “the ‘122 Patent”) entitled “Eccentric Footwear Cleat” issued to SOFTSPIKES. A true and correct copy of the ‘122 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit 5.
55.    Upon information and belief, on December 28, 2004, U.S. Pat No. 6,834,445 (hereinafter “the ‘445 Patent”) entitled “Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” issued to SOFTSPIKES. A true and correct copy of the ‘445 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit 6.
56.    Upon information and belief, on December 28, 2004, U.S. Pat No. 6,834,446 (hereinafter “the ‘446 Patent”) entitled “Indexable Shoe Cleat with Improved Traction” issued to SOFTSPIKES. A true and correct copy of the ‘446 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit 7.
57.     Upon information and belief, on April 26, 2005 SOFTSPIKES filed a patent application which described Mr. Curley’ s index cleat design, entitled “Footwear Cleat” listing McMULLIN as inventor.
58.    Upon information and belief, Mr. Curley is an inventor of the patent application entitled “Footwear Cleat” and should have been listed on the application.
59.    Upon information and belief, SOFTSPIKES breached its duty of disclosure to the United States Patent and Trademark Office by failing to list and identify Mr. Curley as an inventor of the patent application entitled “Footwear Cleat”.
60.    Upon information and belief, on October 23, 2007, U.S. Pat No. D553,336 (hereinafter “the ‘336 Patent”) entitled “Footwear Cleat” issued to SOFTSPIKES. A true and correct copy of the ‘336 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit 8.
61.    Upon information and belief, as stated above, on October 6, 1999, the Agreement was executed between Softspikes, Inc. the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, Mr. Curley and FLATSPIKES. (Exhibit 1)
62.    Upon information and belief, under the terms of the Agreement, Softspikes, Inc., the predecessor in interest of SOFTSPIKES, contracted to pay Mr. Curley royalties for use of Mr. Curley’ s developments and intellectual property within the golf spike industry, referred to as the “Property” as defined in said Agreement.
63.    Upon information and belief, SOFTSPIKES consistently paid royalties to Mr. Curley up to, and including the third quarter for 2008.
64.    Upon information and belief, and as further discussed herein and appended to the particular Counts at issue, upon rendering a conclusion that Mr. Curley was in a debilitated physical and mental state, SOFTSPIKES refused to continue to remit further royalty payments, despite admitting that these proceeds were owed to Mr. Curley.
65.    Upon information and believe, SOFTSPIKES overt act of refusing to pay royalties owed qualifies as an unequivocal breach of the Agreement, thus vitiating the terms of said Agreement and restoring all ownership rights of the intellectual property of Mr. Curley (the “Property” as described in the Agreement) to Mr. Curley. Said Property will become the focus of Counts VII through X herein.

Yow, this one should be nasty. The entire golf cleat patent infringement Complaint may be reviewed David Dawsey  – Monitoring Golf Industry Patent Infringement Litigation

PS – click HERE to read about more golf patent litigation