Is FootJoy the only Golf Shoe Brand that Values Intellectual Property?

The 30 most recently issued design patents directed to golf shoes (non-cleat related) have issued to Acushnet (aka FootJoy). In fact, a golf shoe related design patent hasn’t issued to anyone other than Acushnet since October 2001. 

The most recent Acushnet golf shoe design patent is D533,706, a figure from which is reproduced below.

Surprisingly very few utility patents have recently issued on golf shoe related inventions. In fact, the most recent utility patent to a mainstream shoe manufacturer issued to Acushnet on April 5, 2005 as USPN 6,874,257 titled “Shoes Including Heel Cushion.” Prior to the ‘257 patent, a golf shoe utility patent issued to Nike on November 16, 2004 as USPN 6,817,117 titled “Golf Shoe Outsole with Oriented Traction Elements.”

Perhaps this explains why FootJoy is “The #1 Shoe in Golf.”