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:

1. A novel method of fabricating a uniquely and personally contoured grip which is molded permanently to the contour of the grip of the hands of the individual user by allowing the material of said grip to cure while being gripped by the hands of the user.

Unfortunately, the USGA Rules state:

The grip consists of material added to the shaft to enable the player to obtain a firm hold. The grip must be straight and plain in form, must extend to the end of the shaft, and must not be molded to any part of the hands.

Therefore, even if a miracle occurs and a patent is granted on the invention (check out the prosecution history), a product that is in direct violation of the Rules is highly unlikely to be a commercially viable product. On a positive note, Mr. Cooper did not spend a lot on legal fees as the application was prepared pro se.

Individual inventors… PLEASE pay attention… if you can’t afford to have a patent attorney prepare and file your patent application then you must read every page of David Pressman’s Patent It Yourself book twice before even considering drafting a patent application on your own. It is a good self-help legal book but you must have the discipline to follow each and every one of the author’s suggestions. (and if you are a golf product inventor, get yourself a copy of the USGA Rules)