Those following the contentious Titleist ProV1 golf ball patent infringement lawsuit may have known that yesterday was Acushnet’s deadline to file their “Answering Brief” in response to Callaway’s Motion for a Permanent Injunction (click here to review). Boy, I was looking forward to some good reading material; unfortunately, 9 of the 10 filings made with the court yesterday have been filed under “seal” with the label “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - OUTSIDE COUNSELS' EYES ONLY.” In other words, not only can the public not see the documents, Acushnet does not want Callaway’s in-house lawyers to have access to the documents! In the big picture, this is not unusual; just disappointing because the filings probably contain from fascinating information.

I am not familiar with Judge Robinson’s local rules regarding the filing of “redacted” versions of “sealed” documents, but it appears that most of the documents filed under “seal” in this case have been supplemented with a “redacted” version of the “sealed” document within 7-10 days. I will let you know if “redacted” documents are filed.

Callaway now has until March 6th to file their Reply Brief (which hopefully will not be filed under seal).

David Dawsey  – The IP Golf Guy