Today a patent application published that makes me wonder whether the inventor has ever actually played golf. The application published as US Pub. No. 20090203466 titled “Golf Club Head” and describes the invention as..... Check out these driver designs! I want to meet the golfer that can hit this first design.....<< MORE >>

Cleveland Golf sure seems to do a good job monitoring online sales of their products to ensure they are real Cleveland clubs sold in an authorized manner. You may recall a previous post titled “Cleveland Golf Cracks Down on Unauthorized Online Sales.” Yesterday Cleveland continued to demonstrate their market awareness and filed a lawsuit against the operators of the website “CopyCatClubs” for allegedly selling a counterfeit Cleveland® HiBore® driver, Cleveland® CG14® Black Pearl wedge, Cleveland® CG10® wedge, Cleveland® CG12® wedge, and Cleveland® 588® wedge to one of Cleveland Golf’s “mystery shoppers.” What a job! How do you get a “mystery shopper” gig? I have included some of the more interesting parts of the Complaint below....<< MORE >>

Today a design patent issued on a fairway wood that I did not recognize and I immediately thought that I had uncovered something great. Unfortunately, not so. Is your knowledge of fairway woods better than mine? Can you identify the model of this club (not just the manufacturer)?..... Click HERE for the answer. I always fall for that rookie gender-related mistake. Nice looking club, but obviously I could never play one. The drawings come from USPN D598062 titled “Wood-Type Golf Club Head.”....<< MORE >>

I was honored to be a guest on the nationally syndicated Small Business Advocate® radio show this morning. Jim Blasingame and I discussed competitive intelligence and steps that small business owners can take to monitor intellectual property issues in their industry. Feel free to listen to the interview HERE..... << MORE >>

Recently I have posted about some interesting groove patent applications by Karsten Manufacturing (aka PING) and Bridgestone. Well, don’t count Acushnet out, as they had an interesting groove patent issue this week. The patent is USPN 7568983 titled “Golf Club Head Groove Configuration.”.... Are you curious as to whose patent application discloses grooves that Acushnet believes to be “poorly engineered?” The Acushnet patent is referring to the grooves disclosed in.... << MORE >>

Back in January I authored a post titled “Grooves of the Future?” in which an interesting patent application by Karsten Manufacturing (aka PING) was examined. Check it out if you aren’t familiar with it because it provides some context to the groove designs disclosed in this post. Today Bridgestone had a patent application publish addressing the same issues. The application published as US Pub. No. 20090197700 titled “Golf Club Head,” and explains the invention as.... It is amazing how over 8000 miles can separate golf club designers and yet they can develop, and claim, such similar inventions; although it looks like PING beat Bridgestone to the punch (a July 5, 2007 priority date compared to a January 31, 2008 priority date)! I guess the Golf-Patents blog doesn’t have a large following in Chichibu-shi, Japan.<< MORE >>

Familiar with that fish out of water feeling when trying to get your left arm through that second carry strap? (and how it typically occurs when a cute beer cart girl is driving past) Well, Ogio recently received a patent on a device that may eliminate the fish out of water feeling and the odd glances of passersby as it appears that you are practicing your swimming stroke or swinging at flies.....<< MORE >>

There definitely seems to be a trend toward more “senior friendly” golf products hitting the market, just see THIS prior post. Today an interesting putter design patent issued that may warrant consideration by all those golfers with aching backs. The patent is USPN D597615 titled “Golf Putter.” Check out this putter design.....<< MORE >>

Would you ever think one of the big golf club OEM’s would get into the golf tee market? Not me, but that is just what Karsten seems to be considering. Yesterday Karsten had an interesting patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20090181806 titled “Golf Tee and Methods to Manufacture Golf Tees.” The application explains....<< MORE >>

Today a patent application published that made me scratch my head. The application published as US Pub. No. 20090191984 titled “Tee Dispenser” and describes the invention as.... I would have to consider relinquishing my registration as a patent attorney if the following claim issues in a patent!....<< MORE >>

Do you recognize the irons disclosed in design patent USPN D597,157 titled “Iron Type Golf Club Head” that issued today?....<< MORE >>

An interesting golf bag patent application recently published directed to Sun Mountain’s hip belt system. The application published as US Publication No. 20090179058 titled “Hip Belt System,” which describes the invention as....<< MORE >>

Just when you start to think that nothing will surprise you…. something always does. Today a Nike patent application caught me off guard with talk of adjustments to “change the overall exterior shape.” Do what? The application published as US Pub. No. 20090186717 titled “Golf Clubs and Golf Club Heads with Adjustable Center of Gravity and Moment of Inertia Characteristics,” and describes the invention as.... Check out these designs.... Amazing ideas, but will any of them make it to market? I suggest they call this line the Transformer, or possibly just SS (for shape shifter)....<< MORE >>

An interesting swing training invention is disclosed in a patent application that published this week, but I can’t decide if this is a really good idea or just another toy to collect dust in the basement. The application published as US Pub. No. 20090181785 titled “Golf Swing Training Apparatus” and describes the invention as.... Got that? Me neither. Fortunately the inventor has a website that includes a paper explaining the dual swing concept, as well as a video. Check it out! Could this help your swing?....<< MORE >>

Click HERE to read a prior post about the trademark portfolio associated with the British Open. Enjoy. Also, while you are watching the tournament today try to count the number of sponsors listed on Lee Westwood's shirt and hat. More significantly, how many of them can you actually read? During yesterday's press conference I counted no less than __ different companies, and about __ that I could actually read. How much is too much?<< MORE >>

This has been a good week for interesting golf ball IP. Just yesterday an Acushnet patent application was published as US Publication No. 20090181805 titled “Golf Ball Surface Patterns Comprising Variable Width/Depth Multiple Channels,” and it will blow your mind. Will we see one of these on Tour soon?....<< MORE >>

Ever heard of the Nickel Putter company? Well this week they were granted a patent on a pretty slick combination putter and ball marker. The patent is USPN 7559848 titled “Golf Club” and describes the invention as.... Check out this putter....<< MORE >>

Golf technology, and the associated research and development, never cease to amaze me. Today Bridgestone had a golf ball patent issue on a dimple pattern designed specifically to maximize distance under low spin conditions. The Bridgestone patent issued as USPN 7559857 titled “Golf Ball,” which describes the invention as.... Check out these dimples.... Fascinating stuff! Finally, a ball for all the golfers fortunate to hit low-spinning drives.<< MORE >>

Well, I have no idea…. but I will tell you how Japanese club maker K.K. Endo Seisakusho says they can do it; namely, by going against conventional thinking regarding the location of a club head's center of gravity (CG). Would you ever think that raising the center of gravity of a wedge head would result in more spin? Well, a recently published patent application indicates that increasing the CG height of the wedge above the center of the ball can increase the resulting spin on the ball. The application published as US Pub. No. 20090176596 titled “Wedge Type Golf Club Including Pitching Wedge, Approach Wedge, and Sand Wedge,” and the following drawings nicely illustrate the height of the club head CG versus the center of the golf ball.... The application explains.... Are you a believer?<< MORE >>

What’s a trace you ask? Take a look at these figures from a Bridgestone patent application that published today and it will become clear.... Starting to see a trend? There is a lot of real estate between those grooves to capitalize on. Recall my post titled “Does Your Club Face Need Some Engineered Texturing? Taylor Made Thinks So!”....<< MORE >>

Recently a patent application published disclosing an interesting adjustable putter face. The application originates from Korea, so it is not the easiest to read but the drawings help fill the holes. The application published as US Publication No. 20090170628 titled “Head for Golf Putter” and describes the invention as....<< MORE >>

There aren’t too many interesting golf shoe inventions, but this is one. Check out the golf shoe design disclosed in a patent application that recently published as 20090165336 titled “Magnetic Swivel Sports Shoes.”.... Interesting invention, but I am not sure those shoes would help my game (and how much would they weigh)..... << MORE >>

Vibration dampening of golf irons has been a popular subject in golf club patents for the past decade. Recently Karsten Manufacturing, maker of PING brand clubs, had a patent application publish disclosing a club head design that they have been working on to reduce club head vibration. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090156324 titled “Golf Club with Cavity, and Method of Manufacture.” Check out this design.... Frankly, I go to as many demo days as I can and I hit as many irons as possible, yet....<< MORE >>

I don’t know what to think about this recently published patent application. It there really a need for metal golf tees?.... Are you sold? Not me!....<< MORE >>

Virtually all serious golfers are familiar with the putters from Heavy Putter. Heck, it seems that lately it is hard to avoid hearing about Heavy Putters, due in part to John Daly’s use of their products. Well, how does Heavy Putter plan to capitalize on their recent spike in popularity?.... << MORE >>

Regulars of the Golf-Patents.com blog may recall a post titled “Is This Callaway Driver Radical Enough for You?”, as well as the follow-up post titled “Callaway Received a Patent on the ‘C-Shaped Golf Club Head’; Will This Club Actually Make it to the Market?”. Well, when it comes to the giant golf companies it is easy to dismiss a real radical club design that is only seen in a single patent application as a design that was dreamt up in R&D and will likely never make it to the masses. However, once I start to see multiple patent applications on similar technology, then I begin to wonder.... “Are they are serious about this design? Heck, they have already made a significant investment in protecting the intellectual property. Perhaps this will actually make it to market!” Those are the thoughts that fired through my head yesterday when another interesting Callaway patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090163294 titled “Driver with Deep Aft Cavity.” Check out this design!.... Perhaps this club may actually see the inside of a golf shop!<< MORE >>

Last week I reported on some possible designs of the next PING driver. Well, this week another design patent issued that may give us an even better idea of what the next generation of PING drivers may look like. The patent that issued this week is USPN D594919 titled “Golf Club Head.” Check out these figures.... Combine those drawings with some of the figures last week and you can start to get a sense of what PING may have in mind.....<< MORE >>

I have to admit that I purposely avoid reading all the hype regarding “stack and tilt;” after all, my game has bigger issues (like the inability to hit a decent wedge shot). However, I do know that some golfers swear by “stack and tilt” and say that it has changed their games. Well, this week an invention was granted a patent that is designed just for all you “stack and tilt” lovers. The patent is USPN 7547257 titled “Stack and Tilt Footwork and Body Pivot Training Aid.” Check out this training aid....<< MORE >>

Technically challenged? If so, a recently published patent application describes a range finder that may be perfect for you. The patent application (US Pub. No. 20090151177) describes the invention as.... I think this is the one range finder that has the potential to actually slow down play!....<< MORE >>

I have no doubt that young golfers would buy the PING golf bag described in a patent application that published this week as US Pub. No. 20090152144 titled “Golf Bag Having Shoulder Strap With An Electronic Device.” The application described the invention as.... A cassette player? Really? Check out these drawings..... Interesting invention that would be nice to have on the range or when playing by yourself, but please not when playing in a group! << MORE >>

Most golfers can look at a pile of unlabeled golf balls and easily identify the Callaway balls because of their unique HEX aerodynamic technology; but in the future will we be seeing more traditional circular dimples on Callaway balls? One could be led to that conclusion after reading a Callaway golf ball patent that issued this week as USPN 7547259 titled “Aerodynamic Pattern for a Golf Ball.” Here is an interesting bit of history from the patent.... I did not know that is where ATTI originates. The patent describes the invention as.... << MORE >>

Karsten Manufacturing, maker of PING brand golf clubs, had 3 design patents issue today. Interestingly, the patent applications were filed less than 5 months ago, leading me to believe that these patents may give us a peak at some new PING products in the pipeline. The first two patents, namely USPN D594,520 and USPN D594,521, are directed to the ornamental design of drivers, whereas the third patent USPN D594,518 appears to be directed to a hybrid with a design unlike any previous PING hybrids. Check out these designs.....<< MORE >>

I have authored many posts regarding celebrity athletes protecting their brands via the trademark system. Well, now it is time for these celebriletes (yes, I just made that word up) to take the next step to prevent others from snatching up a new Facebook vanity URL incorporating their trademarks. Recently the social networking web site Facebook announced that it will begin providing access to vanity URLs at midnight tonight, June 12, 2009, on a first-come, first-served basis. As you may know, previously a user’s Facebook URL was comprised of randomly assigned numbers. Now, instead of random numbers, the URL would say facebook.com/username. For instance, Tiger’s Facebook URL could be facebook.com/TigerWoods, or that could end up as the Facebook URL of one lucky fan (who may end up with an interesting legal battle)..... << MORE >>

In the past I have profiled some rather unusual, some may say unique, golf club designs by Callaway, Taylor Made, and Bridgestone; however I have never reported on any Acushnet patent applications disclosing club head designs that lean toward the unconventional. Today is a new day and an Acushnet patent application published yesterday that will make you think. The patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090149276 titled “Metal Wood Club With Improved Moment of Inertia” and described the invention as.... OK, that description does not do justice to the club head designs that you are about to see.....<< MORE >>

It doesn’t take a lot to explain this golf bag invention, check it out!.... The invention is described in a patent application that published today as US Pub. No. 20090145787 titled “Golf Bag.” The application explains the need for the invention as follows.... So, hot product or flop product? I think.... << MORE >>

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). In the latest round of litigation Greenkeepers takes on Adidas, TaylorMade, Callaway, and Ecco. These defendants are in good company in that Acushnet, Softspikes, Nike, and MacNeil Engineering (maker of Champ Spikes) have all also been sued by Greenskeepers....<< MORE >>

Roughly one year ago I noticed that Callaway had filed a trademark application for the WING NOTCH WEIGHTING mark. What could it be? Well, this week a Callaway patent application published that may give us a look at the Wing Notch Weighting™ system that may be coming out in the new FT 11, or perhaps the FT-MACH 11, FT-JET, or FT-BLACKHAWK..... The patent application that became public yesterday published as US Pub. No. 20090143167 titled “Golf Club Head With Adjustable Weighting, Customizable Face-Angle, and Variable Bulge and Roll Face.” The application summarizes the invention as.... Now, check out this design.... Interesting. Callaway must be tired of all the TaylorMade MWT advertisements; but will this design make it to market? << MORE >>

Since 2008 a pair of eBay sellers have sold over 10,000 Cleveland golf clubs totaling $1.7 million in sales to customers around the world. Not bad! So, why would Cleveland Golf sue them? Because the eBay sellers are “not, and never have been, Authorized Dealers of Cleveland Golf” and are obtaining “their clubs from Authorized Dealers who are transshipping the clubs” in breach of their distribution agreements with Cleveland Golf. That’s right, this isn’t a matter of an eBay seller passing off counterfeit Cleveland clubs to unsuspecting purchasers; this duo of eBay sellers is selling the real deal. So what’s the issue? I will let the following excerpts from a Complaint filed yesterday by Cleveland Golf, in the District Court for the District of Massachusetts, do the explaining.... << MORE >>

Probably not, but what a radical club for Bridgestone! Check out the driver disclosed in a patent application that published last week as US Pub. No. 20090137338 titled “Wood-Type Golf Club Head.”..... The application says it all with the following: "Besides, the head appearance has an unprecedentedly peculiar shape that attracts the attention of a bystander, but a golfer who uses this head does not feel the peculiar shape at address." Think this design will make it to market?....<< MORE >>

Titleist’s A.I.M. (Alignment Integrated Marking) sidestamp is coming under fire! As we all know, golf equipment can never have enough acronyms! The A.I.M. sidestamp is that convenient line ending with arrowheads to help golfers align their putts. Lombardi Golf Designs is alleging that the alignment sidestamps on the.... Bet you would have never guessed Titleist’s alignment line would be the subject of a golf ball design patent infringement lawsuit! (me neither)....<< MORE >>

I bet you have never seen a driver like this. Check out the driver design found in design patent USPN D592720 titled “Golf Club Head,” which issued last week to Jack Hamm (the creator of some unconventional drivers)....<< MORE >>

Ever wish you could easily turn your trusted loyal old putter into a face balanced putter? The invention that is disclosed in recently published patent application US Pub. No. 20090131194 titled “Weighted Golf Club Grips and Shafts” offers one way to achieve the goal. The application describes the invention as....<< MORE >>

A design patent issued yesterday to Callaway that is directed to a driver that I have never seen before. The following drawings come from USPN D592721 titled “Golf Club Head.”.... So, what do you think…. something new, something old, or something that never made it out of R&D?....<< MORE >>

Following up on my recent post titled “GolfTech Wins & the Dancin’ Dogg Loses”, can you guess the damages associated with Dancin’Dogg personal golf simulator’s infringement of GolfTech’s USPN 6821211 titled “Sport Swing Analysis System”?....<< MORE >>

One need only look at the list of golf ball patent applications that published last week to get a feel for the competitiveness of the golf ball industry. Last week alone Acushnet had 15 golf ball patent applications publish, SRI Sports (aka Srixon) had 5 golf ball patent applications publish, and Bridgestone had 4 golf ball patent applications publish. All told, these patent applications represent millions of dollars in R&D (and a pretty penny in legal expenses). Check out this breakdown and see if you can spot any trends..... First, it is pretty clear that Acushnet believes there is something to be said for.... Second, it seems that Acushnet is betting that the USGA.... << MORE >>

The TTABlog® is a pretty popular blog among IP attorneys. Recently it had a great POST regarding Karsten’s attempt to register the shape of the CRAZ-E putter as a trademark. Check it out....<< MORE >>

An interesting Acushnet patent application published this week as US Pub. No. 20090120197 titled “Golf Club Head Comprising a Piezoelectric Sensor.” The application describes the invention as.... Cool stuff. Will this club ever make it to market? If so, how long will it take?....<< MORE >>

Probably not, but check out this invention!.... Wow, check out that hosel wrap! When was the last time you had a club that looked like that? The drawings come from a patent application that published yesterday as US Pub. No. 20090119857 titled “Golf Clubhead Cleaning Device.” The application describes the invention as.... No offense but this invention looks like the type of thing that a golfer gets as a gift from a non-golfer.... << MORE >>

Well, neither have I.... but a recently published patent application may indicate that Rife Putters is looking to branch out. Today Mr. Rife had a patent application publish that may give us an idea of what he has been thinking about; namely, the soles of metal woods. The patent application publishes as US Pub. No. 20090124410 titled “Sole Configuration for Metal Wood Golf Club.” The application describes the invention as.... So, is Guerin onto something new, or should he stick with designing putters? << MORE >>

Recall my POST back in March about the ongoing litigation-fest between Callaway and Acushnet regarding golf ball patent infringement?.... (lots of interesting stuff).... Acushnet admits that it has sold nearly $(guess) worth of Pro V1 balls! That equates to selling almost $(guess) worth of Pro V1 balls every minute of every day for the past 8.5 years! Simply amazing.<< MORE >>