If you follow the Golf-Patents blog then you probably realize that I was fascinated by a recent Callaway ball patent. The Callaway invention is directed to internal structures in the ball that divert liquid as the ball spins to control the spin of the ball. The Callaway patent inspired some research into the origins of liquid filled golf balls (and there have been many!). The earliest US disclosure of a liquid filled golf ball is found in USPN 715295 titled “Playing Ball,” which was filed in 1902...<< MORE >>

Isn’t the game hard enough? Well, the inventors of USPN 6691887 titled “Underground Rake Storage Apparatus and Method” must not think so. The ‘877 patent discloses a unique underground storage system and keeps rakes out of the way and nicely presents them when needed. Check out this device... The device looks a little complex (i.e. costly). Interesting idea nonetheless, and I could see the USGA using these devices at big tournaments.<< MORE >>

Very few inventors appreciate how important it is to closely review a patent application before it is filed. After all, an inventor should not want to notice errors for the first time when they are attempting to enforce it against a competitor. The attorney that drafted this patent application tried to educate his clients on the importance of a thorough application review prior to filing, yet something slipped through the cracks. Check out this claim that remained in the application when it was filed. Funny!...<< MORE >>

My wedge struggles have led me to looking at a lot of wedge patents lately. One patent in particular really caught my attention. I have no doubt that the club disclosed in USPN 6224496 titled “Golf Club Head with Removable Head Insert” would produce some incredible spin, but it looks like it would absolutely tear up golf balls. Check out this club!... This patent is assigned to The Spin Doctor Ltd. and it appears that a version of this club is actually available for purchase!...<< MORE >>

Inventors have been trying to develop shank resistant wedges for years. I am sure that everyone has seen the advertisements for F2 Golf’s face forward wedges. Let’s look a few of the early innovators in shank resistant clubs, as well as one design that would seem to promote hosel rockets...<< MORE >>

Over at the Technology and Marketing Law Blog there is an excellent post regarding a lawsuit filed by Vulcan Golf LLC against Google. Eric Goldman does a great job explaining the lawsuit, so I won't attempt to summarize it myself... It looks like Vulcan Golf is not afraid of a fight!<< MORE >>

When I think of a keel it always involves the fin on the bottom of sailboat. Critical to stability, yet easy to run aground in shallow water. Therefore I was a little surprised to stumble across a patent titled “Metal Shell Golf Club Head With Keel.” Check out these figures!... Frankly, this looks like a club that most golfers would be running aground a lot! << MORE >>

The infamous foot wedge. Accuracy has always been a problem. The ball is too small to hit it off the laces and the shoe tip is just too rounded to catch one square. One inventor feels he has the solution. Check out USPN 5472200 titled “Golf Ball Kicking Device.” I am surprised that FootJoy hasn’t licensed this patent...<< MORE >>

Recently a very interesting grip patent application published as US Pub. No. 20070123365 titled “Golf Club Grip.” The application describes the invention as:... So what does that mean? Well, the figures do a good job of illustrating the concept (despite the fact that they look like they were sketched on a napkin). The invention is a grip with two distinct diameters with the lower grip section having a diameter larger than the upper grip section... << MORE >>

Patent Attorney: Of course not! Protect it all. Golf Equipment Manufacturer: We spend $__ millions in R and D every year, we must protect our intellectual property or we would just be giving it to the competition. Plus, all of our competitors are trying to protect everything! Golfer: I wish the equipment manufacturers would just save the legal fees and reduce the price of the products. Who is correct? Well, at one point or another I could see myself taking all three positions. But… this week a design patent issued that made me look at ...<< MORE >>

The Golf-Patents blog has tested your knowledge of iron club head design in the past. Today, let’s see if you can identify another set of irons. This is a tougher test than usual. Good luck. The figure below comes from a US golf club iron head design patent that issued yesterday to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of irons?<< MORE >>

If you can identify the manufacturer of this wedge then pat yourself on the back… you know your wedges. The figure below comes from a US wedge design patent that issued yesterday to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand?<< MORE >>

Ever want to strap your bag to your bike and cruise to the course? If so then this invention may be for you. A patent application published last week as US Pub. No. 20070138223 with the title “Golf Bag for Motorcycles.” The figures tell the story... Interesting invention, but will we see these as a Harley factory option?<< MORE >>

A prior post discussed an interesting Callaway patent application regarding their liquid filled golf ball technology. This week Callaway was granted USPN 7232382 based on the previously discussed patent application. Check out these figures... Congratulations Callaway! One question... how much would these balls cost?<< MORE >>

Do you understand why average golfers should not play the same equipment as the pros? Probably, but I know that a lot of average golfers do not. How many times have you seen a 20+ handicapper playing “pro” or “tour” forged irons while hitting the most expensive balls they can find? An Acushnet (aka Titleist) patent issued this week that does a nice job of explaining why golfers should select balls based upon the golf balls spin characteristics... The Acushnet patent that issued this week is USPN 7232384 titled “Perimeter Weighted Golf Ball.” The patent describes the invention as...<< MORE >>

Several tour players use this driver… the manufacturer has plenty of advertising in the golf magazines and on TV… so you should be able to identify this unique driver design...(drawings)... I trust that at least 75% of you quickly identified this driver, for those of you that don't read golf magazines or watch The Golf Channel...<< MORE >>

This week an interesting driver design patent issued that may give us a glimpse into new product development at Cleveland Golf. The driver design patent is USPN D544938 titled “Portion of a Golf Club Head.” Check out these figures from the patent... Will we see a square HiBore XL?<< MORE >>

What’s the difference! An interesting patent application published last week as US Pub. No. 20070135226 titled “Golf Teaching Aid.” The application describes the invention as... Check out these drawings of the device... Must have been invented by a lefty. Congratulations nonetheless.<< MORE >>

Last week an interesting putter utility patent application published as US Pub. No. 20070135230 titled “Impact Force Dampening System for Use with a Golf Putter Head.” The application describes the invention as... So what does all that mean? Well, check out the figures below and then form your opinion regarding this unique design concept.<< MORE >>

The following product line may have the honor of being the product line protected by the greatest number of design patents. There is little doubt that the manufacturer greatly values the product line. Check out these five design patents that issued this week... I trust that you can identify the brand.<< MORE >>

I would never have guessed that the word “Stimpmeter” is a registered trademark. The Stimpmeter registration describes the goods associated with the mark as an “apparatus for measuring the relative speed of a golf putting green.” So, who owns the trademark? Perhaps a long-time putter manufacturer such as PING (Karsten)... maybe a ball manufacturer such as Titleist... And the owner is...<< MORE >>

As you may recall, a prior post during the Masters looked at the trademark portfolio of Augusta National. Let’s see how Oakmont stacks up. Actually it is not fair to blindly compare Oakmont’s trademark portfolio with Augusta’s trademark portfolio because Augusta owns the trademarks associated with the Masters, while the USGA owns the trademarks associated with the US Open (a future post). Oakmont has two federally registered trademarks. Check them out...<< MORE >>

Think the USGA values the royalties associated with the US Open? Of course! The tournament and the all the associated branded products are a huge source of revenue. The USGA has federally registered 6 trademarks associated with the US Open for goods and services in 16 International Classes. Interestingly, the US Open mark is protected with respect to goods varying from boxer shorts to watches. Check out this list of the marks in the USGA trademark portfolio...<< MORE >>

Not me. Fortunately some golf inventors aren’t as closed minded as I am. This week an interesting training device invention became protected by USPN 7229361 titled “Laser Indicator for Golf.” The patent described the invention as: A laser indicator for golf enables a golfer to maintain a correct posture when he or she enjoys putting or driving a golf ball. The laser indicator includes a case having a window on a front surface, a clamp fixedly secured to the case so as to detachably attach ...<< MORE >>

It is not very often that I look at an iron design and it takes my breath away. I actually said “what the heck” when I saw the drawings from a patent application that published yesterday. The application published as US Pub. No. 20070135233 titled “Golf Iron Club.” The application describes the invention as:... An iron with three rounded modules and an oblong island… what? Check out these figures from the application...<< MORE >>

I have lived in Ohio, a fairly cold location, for most of my life and the thought of heating my golf balls has never crossed my mind. Yet, this week USPN 7230212 issued titled “Golf Ball Heater,” making it the second golf ball heater invention that I have come across just this year. The patent describes the invention as: A golf ball heating appliance for heating 4 or more golf balls to an average temperature of between 40 degrees C and 55 degrees ...<< MORE >>

Over 100,000 of these clubs were sold in 1985 alone! Can you identify this driver?... Apparently the design was a little ahead of its time, as this article indicates that the company had to replace more than $1.5 million worth of the clubs due to a variety of club head failures... << MORE >>

It seems that there is a fascination with pedal powered golf carts. Recently a patent application published that takes the concept to a new level. The application published as US Pub. No. 20070123363 titled “Bicycle-Mounted Golf Club Carrying System, Combination With a Bicycle Having Extra-Wide Tires and Method of Use Thereof.” The application describes the invention as: A system for carrying golf clubs on the front end of a bicycle by dividing the clubs between two enclosures: one to the left of the bicycle's front fork and one to the ...<< MORE >>

On June 8, 2007 Callaway filed a golf club patent infringement lawsuit alleging that Acushnet has willfully infringed 5 Callaway patents. The complaint alleges that the King Cobra 454 Comp, King Cobra F Speed, King Cobra HS9 F Speed, King Cobra HS9 M Speed, King Cobra LD F Speed, Titleist 905R, Titleist 905S, and Titleist 905T clubs infringe one, or more, of the Callaway patents. The Callaway patents that are allegedly infringed include USPN ... All five of the patents are titled “Golf Club Head Having a Striking Face with Improved Impact Efficiency.”...<< MORE >>

Do the major players in the golf industry value their intellectual property? You bet! Just take a look at Bridgestone Sports (who doesn’t own a large portion of the market in the US). Last week Bridgestone had one golf ball patent issue, one golf ball patent application publish, and eight golf club patent applications publish! That is a major investment in their US patent portfolio, which includes approximately 567 US patents that have issued in the past 20 years. It is hard to imagine a company would continue expanding its US patent portfolio at this pace if it was not a smart strategic business decision... The golf club head applications include designs directed to methods to mount weights internally in the club head, vibration damping viscoelastic bodies, and specific crown and sole construction features...<< MORE >>

Are you familiar with the ImpactStik swing exerciser? I was not until the patent application published a few weeks ago. The patent application describes the invention as: Components of a golf exerciser are contained within a tube that can be swung in a simulated golf swing independently of a golf club. Within the tube is an extension spring connected to a weight so that centrifugal force developed during swinging the tube can move the weight toward a distal end of the tube. There, a ...<< MORE >>

On July 6, 2006 Nike filed US trademark application Serial Number 78919236. The description of the trademark is “The mark consists of the color yellow appearing on the sole of the golf club head opposite the clubface. The matter that is shown in broken lines is for placement purposes only and is not part of the mark.” The application contained the following figure:... On September 16, 2006 the trademark examining attorney refused the application stating:... Nike responded on March 19, 2007 with a 57 page response. The response is very well written and must have persuaded the trademark examining attorney, as the USPTO issued a Notice of Publication on June 6, 2007. The mark will be published for opposition on June 26, 2007...<< MORE >>

USPN D543,597 titled “Golf Tee” issued on May 29th for a unique tee design... It looks as if it includes some type of alignment device that would sit on the turf...<< MORE >>

When you bend down to pick your ball up out of the hole do you ever wonder about the intellectual property associated with the cup design? I don’t… and I am a patent attorney and golf nut. This is why I was so intrigued to see USPN 7226361 issue this week. The ‘361 patent is titled “Golf Cup Sleeve” and is assigned to Par Aide Products (a major producer of golf course maintenance products). I have to admit… I spend a lot of time thinking about golf, yet I have never given the cup a single thought. The background of the invention explains the problems that the invention of the ‘361 patent tries to solve... In preparing a golf green, a hole is cored into the ground which receives the golf ball therein. Various cups have been inserted into the ground to preserve the shape of the hold and to hold a flag. One example of a cup inserted into the hole is a plastic cup. The plastic cup has several drawbacks... << MORE >>

Do you remember the Maxfli A10? This golf ball was launched in August of 2001 and quickly racked up over a dozen wins on the professional tours. There was even a contest called “A10 Tell Us Your Best Story” that invited consumers to submit their A10 stories for a chance to win an Orlando, Florida prize package. Although the ball experienced a great deal of success early in its life, an advertising campaign gone awry was one factor that eventually led to the ball’s extinction. Shortly after the A10’s entry into the market, Maxfli began touting their new product “The Longest Ball on Tour.”...At least one ball manufacturer took exception to the A10’s claim. Enter Callaway Golf Company... Even some of Maxfli’s own tests indicated that the A10 was not the longest ball on tour. Unfortunately for the A10, Maxfli’s marketing department continued promoting the ball as “The Longest Ball on Tour.” ... The legal proceedings played out over the course of three years and on August 12, 2004, a jury awarded Callaway $2.2 million for the false advertising claim. The amount was subsequently reduced to $1.1 million after the court vacated damages for corrective advertising...<< MORE >>

On Tuesday Acushnet was granted a fascinating patent for a ball that the patent describes as: A golf ball is provided that has improved aerodynamic efficiency, resulting in increased flight distance for golfers of all swing speeds, and more particularly for golfers possessing very high swing speeds, such as those who can launch the balls at an initial speed greater than 160 miles per hour and more particularly at initial ball speed of about 170 miles per hour or higher. The golf ball of the present invention combines lower ... Basically, the design focuses on a dimple arrangement and dimple profile that improves aerodynamic efficiency at high ball speeds. The design combines the lower dimple counts (less than 370 dimples) of earlier golf balls with higher dimple coverage and multiple dimples sizes of more modern golf balls... << MORE >>

Several driver design patents have issued in the past few weeks (see prior posts one and two). This week another driver related design patent issued that should be immediately recognizable to every golfer. The patent is USPN D544,058 titled “Portion of a Golf Club Head.” Do you recognize the driver shown in the design patent drawing below? The ‘588 patent is directed to the scalloped regions in the sole of the club...<< MORE >>

I expected to see Al Czervik listed as an inventor on a patent that issued yesterday. For those of you that don’t know Al Czervik… he is the character played by Rodney Dangerfield in the classic 1980 movie Caddyshack. The patent that issued is USPN 7,225,951 titled “Portable Fluid Delivery System.” The patent describes the invention as: A dispenser is located within a golf bag and remotely controlled and coupled to a linear actuator, which extends the fluid dispenser outside of the golf bag upon actuation ...<< MORE >>

The Golf-Patents blog has tested your knowledge of iron club head design several times in the past. Today, let’s see if you can identify another set of irons. A hint... this test may be easier for the low handicap golfer. The figure below comes from a US golf club iron head design patent that issued yesterday to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of irons?...<< MORE >>

Are you “that guy?” You know, the one that gets to the tee box and tees up on the far right edge, takes a practice swing, decides that the ball is too low, raises the tee, then tries to tilt the tee slightly forward to gain that extra six inches on the drive, the ball falls off the tee, tees up again, takes another practice swing, and then decides that the tee box is not level on the right side and proceeds to repeat the process on the left side of the tee box. If you are the golfer that I just described then perhaps you (or the other three people in your group) should be excited about the issuance of USPN 7,223,184 titled “Golf Tee Setting Device and Method.” ...<< MORE >>

Last week SRI Sports was granted USPN 7,223,183 titled “Golf Ball” directed to an interesting two-tiered dimple design. It’s all about aerodynamic symmetry...<< MORE >>

Srixon Sports is quickly becoming a familiar name in the golf community (in large part due to the sponsorship of Jim Furyk and tons of commercials). I suspect that most “average” golfers don’t think of Srixon as a mainstream golf club manufacturer largely because Srixon only offers forged irons (not exactly a friend of the “game-improvement” segment of the market). Srixon did have an iron design patent issue this past week that may indicate an interest in expanding beyond the forged “tour” market. In fact, USPN D543,601 titled “Head for Golf Club” looks to incorporate adjustable weight ports (typically a “game-improvement” segment characteristic)....<< MORE >>

Last week USPN D543,599 titled “Top of Golf Putter” issued to Cleveland Golf related to the Never Compromise brand of putters. The patent illustrates a unique design patent strategy. Many people seem to be surprised that one goal of a design patent should be to obtain as broad of patent protection as possible. Often people mistakenly only think of the “breadth” of a patent with respect to utility patents. This is why you will often see several design patents directed to various aspects of a single club... Congratulations Cleveland Golf, great strategy! So, which design patent do you think is the most broad? USPN D543,599 or USPN D543,598?... << MORE >>

Golf-Patents.com has repeatedly used putter design patents to test your knowledge of putter designs. Well here is another tough one... How good are you at identifying a particular brand of putter when all the brand identifiers are stripped off the club head? The figures below come from a US putter design patent that issued this week to a major producer of clubs. Can you identify the brand of putter?... PS – don’t feel bad if you couldn’t identify the putter manufacturer… heck I did not even know that the particular brand was owned by the golf company in question. << MORE >>

A prior post illustrated a design patent on the sole features of a particularly recognizable square driver. This week a design patent issued on some identifiable crown features of that same driver. Can you identify the driver?... I suspect there will be many more design patents on this product line. The club manufacturer has also filed a utility patent application related to the product. The application has published as US Pub. No. 20050239576 and is currently under examination at the USPTO...<< MORE >>

The number of patent litigation cases filed peaked in 2004 with just over 3000 cases. Filings have since dropped slightly in 2005 to approximately 2700, yet rebounded in 2006 to approximately 2800. If those number interest you… then aside from probably being an attorney or having been involved in a patent infringement lawsuit… you may like to know where most patent litigation cases have recently been filed (i.e. which district courts see the most patent litigation). The top 25 districts are listed below... The district courts seeing the most action include the Central District of California, Eastern District of Texas, Northern District of California, New Jersey, ...<< MORE >>

Finally, all the golfers that have ever wished for a granite putter… your dream has come true. Last week an interesting putter patent application published as US Pub. No. 20070117644 titled “Golf Club.” The application describes the invention as a “golf club in which the golf club head comprises granite or a natural or synthetic, granite-like stone, a composite, or a similar material.” Finally!... Check out these drawings... Golfers will buy anything in hopes of improving their game, so it wouldn’t surprise me if golfers purchased granite putters!...<< MORE >>

Last week PowerLine Golf LLC had an interesting patent application publish as US Pub. No. 20070117643 titled “Swing Plane Training Method.” One of the inventors appears to be a well respected professional golfer. Additionally, the PowerLine website is pretty informative and includes videos of the product in use. I encourage you to check it out... This is one of the few golf training products that has made me say “that could actually help my game.” (although I fear that my swing would get me so tangled up that I would have to cut myself loose)...<< MORE >>

This week an interesting training glove patent issued as USPN 7220188 titled “Golf Glove for Promoting Swing Accuracy.” The patent describes the invention as relating to an improved golf glove which promotes club swing accuracy by stabilizing the posture of a golfer's hand and wrist from address while providing flexibility in the hand's sidewise movement. The patent asserts that a golf swing’s accuracy is known to substantially improve if the glove-clad hand is maintained without backward or forward leaning during the entire swing. Check out these drawings of the glove... Think this would help your game?...<< MORE >>

Most golf equipment buffs will know of Taylor Made’s Inverted Cone Technology. The skeptics have probably wondered whether it is all marketing hype or real technology. The inverted cone technology is a specific variation of face thickness covered by no less than three utility patent; USPN 6800038, USPN 6824475, and USPN 7066832. The ‘475 patent describes the invention as...<< MORE >>