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Patent Law

: Golf Patents

A 3rd Golf GPS Patent Infringement Lawsuit in 15 Months! This Time ABC National Television Sales is Also Thrown in the Mix

By David Dawsey PE Esq

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About one year ago I reported that GPS Industries and Optimal IP Holdings filed a patent infringement lawsuit against 10 defendants (3:07CV0831-K, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division) that I characterized as reading like a Who?s Who of the golfing GPS world. You can refresh yourself on that lawsuit with these posts: initial, update 1, update 2, update 3, update 4, update 5, and update 6.

Then, back in May I reported (see post here) that many of the defendants from the initial lawsuit also found themselves listed as defendants in another GPS patent infringement lawsuit; this time filed by Roblor Marketing Group. The defendants listed in the lawsuit filed on May 23rd include GPS Industries (the plaintiff in the prior lawsuit), ProShot Investors, ProLink Holdings, ProLink Solutions, IntelliGolf, Karrier Communications, L1 Technologies, Links Point, SkyHawke Technologies, Goodwin Golf Group, and Polaris Golf Systems.

Now, this week (July 16th) yet another GPS patent infringement lawsuit was filed adding two new patents to the golf GPS patent minefield; namely, USPN 5685786 titled ?Passive Golf Information System and Method? and USPN 5438518 titled ?Player Positioning and Distance Finding System.? This most recent lawsuit finds GPS Industries Inc. and GPS IT LLC accusing ProLink Solutions LLC, ProLink Holdings Corp., LinksCorp Inc., and ABC National Television Sales, Inc. of patent infringement. Click HERE to read the actual Complaint.

Suing ABC for patent infringement! Interesting strategy. The Complaint includes the following allegations with respect to ABC:

14. ABC, by itself, and through it subsidiaries, affiliates, and agents has been, and is, infringing the ?786 patent by inducing others to directly infringe the ?786 patent. ABC?s acts of inducement include, without limitation, promoting infringing devices supplied by the ProLink Defendants, enabling and facilitating advertisers to provide advertising content for display on such devices and otherwise encouraging advertisers, golf course operators and others to implement and use such devices in ways that infringe one or more claims of the ?786 patents within the United States and within this District. Unless enjoined by the Court, ABC will continue to induce the infringement of the ?786 patent.

Fascinating litigation strategy. I wonder if ABC will put any pressure on the ProLink Defendants to make this lawsuit go away.

Now, to give you a flavor for these 2 patents?.. the ?786 patent describes the invention as:

A golf information system and method which provides yardage and other information to a golfer relative to landmarks on a golf course operating in a "hands-free" or passive manner. In one embodiment, a differential global positioning satellite receiver (DGPS) is utilized to calculate a golf cart position and each time the cart stops, the detected position is compared with positions of landmarks mapped to zones on holes of the course. A location of each landmark is predetermined and stored in a look-up table, afterwhich the golf cart position is compared with the pre-stored positions to obtain a distance between the golf cart and each landmark. The calculated distance is subsequently outputted, preferably on a visual display where it is observed by a golfer. The system can also be used to send speed-of-play messages to a golfer from a clubhouse in order to speed up play, and can also be used to send emergency signals, and advertisements to the golfer. Information outputted to the golfer can be obtained from on-board memory, or in systems with communication features, the information can be sent from a golf course clubhouse or other remote location.

..... and the ?518 patent describes the invention as:

The invention relates to a portable distance tracking system for use by a player on a playing field. The system includes a mobile interface unit that has a memory element, position interface electronics, a data processor, and a player interface. The memory element stores digitized map representations of playing fields. The position interface electronics receivers position indicative signals that are representative of a geographical location of the mobile unit from an external source. The data processor couples to the memory element and to the position interface electronics and correlates the geographical location to a field location of the mobile interface unit on the playing field. The processor also determines the distance from the mobile interface unit to a first landmark. The player interface is coupled to the data processor and communicates the distance between the mobile interface unit and the first landmark to the player. According to a preferred embodiment, the playing field is a golf course and the first landmark is a flag location at a select hole on the golf course.

Interesting! Yet another GPS patent lawsuit to follow.

David Dawsey ? Keeping an Eye on Golf GPS Patent Infringement

PS ? All the attorneys out there will enjoy reading the Complaint's slander accusations that ?? the ProLink Defendants have slandered GPSI?s title to the ?518 patent, and have injured and caused damages to GPSI.?

Full post as published by Golf Patents on July 19, 2008 (boomark / email).