Patent Law

GPS Litigation Update: What Do the Phrases ?Locating the Position of the Cup? and ?Storing the Position of the Cup? Mean?

Posted on October 22, 2008
Simple...... it depends. After all, what is a ?cup?? Kidding, of course, the ?cup? is that little hole in the green that my ball tends to avoid.In order to get you in the GPS patent frame of mind, a short history of the case is necessary. Almost a year and a half 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...

Ultra-Compact Collapsible Golf Pull Cart

Posted on October 18, 2008
A pretty cool compact collapsible golf pull cart was disclosed in a recently published patent application. It looks like a genius design that achieves a very compact storage arrangement; but my initial reaction is that the transformation to and from the storage position may be a little cumbersome and time consuming...

Are You More Likely to See This Invention in the Bedroom or the Golf Bag?

Posted on October 16, 2008
A rather interesting golf related patent issued last week as USPN 7431199 titled ?Golf Flog.? Yes, I know?. a what! A golf flog (yes, golf spelled backwards)!What would your reaction be if you met up with some strangers on the first tee and one of them pulled this flog out of their bag?The patent explains:Golf has traditionally been considered a very challenging sport...

An Unusual Putter Design That I Would Like to Try

Posted on October 14, 2008
Check out this putter design found in the recently issued utility patent USPN 7407446 titled ?Putter with Aligned Front and Back Weights and a Forwardly Angled Shaft.?The patent describes the invention as:A putter constructed for an improved golf swing with the desired straight back-and-forth stroke...

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ProV1 Litigation Update ? Acushnet Updates the Court Regarding the USPTO?s Views of the Callaway Patents

Posted on October 10, 2008
As you should know by now, the Callaway v. Titleist (Acushnet) golf ball battle has been pending for a couple of years, so a quick refresher is in order. Back in December a jury found that 8 of the 9 claims in the 4 patents-in-suit were VALID, and therefore infringed by Acushnet (click HERE to read the post on the verdict)...

Driver of the Future? Probably Not

Posted on October 09, 2008
I have heard that some golfers cannot hit the ball on the club head sweet spot. Hard to believe, I know. Well if you are one of those unfortunate golfers then the club disclosed in USPN 7070514 titled ?Golf Club Head Having Internal Impact Assembly? may be just what you need...

Vokey Wedges Are All The Rage; So Let?s Look At Bob Vokey?s Inventions

Posted on October 08, 2008
Who is Bob Vokey? Well, if you don?t know the answer to that question then you need to reconsider your commitment to the game! (Click HERE to brush up on your knowledge of Mr. Vokey). Let?s learn a little more about this golf legend by checking out Bob Vokey?s inventions...

Hitting Your Tee Shots Too High?

Posted on October 04, 2008
A recent design patent discloses an interesting driver that may raise some eyebrows. The first thing you will notice is the unique shape, but then take a look at the loft!The driver is found in USPN D574044 titled ?Golf Club Head.?Interesting design, but I am not sure a zero degree driver will gain widespread acceptance...

What Organization Do You Associate With The Phrase ?Share Your Passion??

Posted on October 04, 2008
An interesting golf trademark infringement lawsuit was filed back in August. The case involves The Florida Golf School, Inc. d/b/a The United States Golf Teacher?s Association and The PGA of America.Which organization do you associate with the phrase SHARE YOUR PASSION? Well, if you are like me?...

Have Trouble Controlling the Length of Your Backswing?

Posted on October 01, 2008
I am not quite sure what to make of this invention. Part of me likes it; but the realist in me says "come on Dave, you would never actually use that." It is interesting nonetheless. The invention that I am referring to is disclosed in a patent application that recently published as US Pub...

Can You Identify These New Irons?

Posted on September 30, 2008
How familiar are you with the new lines of irons? Do these look familiar?   You can click here for the answer, and click here to check out USPN D577783 titled ?Golf Club Head.? Dave Dawsey   - Watching Golf Iron Patents PS ? click here to check out iron patent posts  

Everyone is Looking for a Magic Way to Reduce Golf Ball Spin Produced with a Driver; Is This the Answer?

Posted on September 28, 2008
Last year  I wrote about a patent directed to a golf ball lubricant (click HERE). Hard to believe? I know.Well, this week a patent application published that may give the ?golf ball lubricant? invention a run for its money.The patent application published as US Pub...

Wow, This Could Be The Next Hot Training Aid!

Posted on September 27, 2008
OK, imagine this?. You can improve your game by practicing hitting a ball toward a hole. Who knew? Recently a patent application published that made me scratch my head. The application published as US Pub. No. 20080227559 titled ?Apparatus and Method for Improving a Golf Shot? and describes the invention as: A golf practice apparatus a generally circular disc, said disc having a centrally located opening, said central located opening forming a golf hole and a method of improving one's golf swing by aiming at the apparatus...

Think You Know A Little About Golf Shafts? This Patent May Change Your Mind, Unless You Really Know Your Flexural Rigidity

Posted on September 25, 2008
SRI Sports was granted an interesting golf shaft patent this week that is a little on the technical side. Would you ever have guessed that this much engineering goes into designing a golf shaft?The patent is USPN 7427240 titled ?Shaft for Golf Clubs and Golf Club? and describes the invention as: Each point obtained by plotting flexural rigidity EI measured at ten sites on a shaft is defined as from T(1) to T(10) in this order from the head side, and the formula representing a line K that passes the T(1) and the T(10) is [Y=aX+b1]...

The Hybrid Recognition Test of the Day?.. Can You Identify This Hybrid?

Posted on September 23, 2008
Hybrids, iron-woods, rescue clubs, utility clubs, ..? whatever you call them, it seems as though their popularity is growing every year. The following figures come from a design patent directed to a hybrid. Can you identify the manufacturer? You can click here for the answer, and click here to check out USPN D576695 titled ?Golf Club Head...

Professional Golfer Natalie Gulbis The Brand

Posted on September 23, 2008
How much is a pretty face and a good golf game worth? A lot! Just ask 25 year old multimillionaire Natalie Gulbis.The products that she endorses get a lot of mileage from her name and face. In fact, in an unusual twist in the golf market.....Check out the rest of my guest post over at the celebrity branding blog Cele-Branding HERE...

Toss Out Your Cleveland and Vokey Wedges?. Here Is The Next Big Thing!

Posted on September 20, 2008
Wedges are interesting clubs. It is hard to define what makes a good wedge, but you know it when you feel it.One California inventor thinks they have developed the next big breakthrough in high-spin wedge design. Do you agree?The drawings above come from a patent application that published as US Pub...

How Well Do You Know Forged ?Player?s? Irons?

Posted on September 20, 2008
Can you identify these forged cavity back irons?  You can click here for the answer, and click here to check out USPN D577088 titled ?Golf Club Head.? Dave Dawsey  - Watching Golf Iron PatentsPS ? click here to check out iron patent posts

Can You Identify This Driver?

Posted on September 17, 2008
Marketing types always say? it is all about brand recognition. I suppose ?brand recognition? is slightly different than ?design patent drawing recognition,? (ok, more than slightly) but they are not entirely unrelated. The following drawings come from a driver design patent that issued yesterday...

What Does Callaway Have In-Line For the FT Line of Drivers?

Posted on September 16, 2008
The USPTO records provide us with a glimpse of what may be the future of Callaway?s popular FT line of drivers. Most golfers are familiar with the FT-3, FT-5, and the FT-i; and we are getting a behind the scenes glimpse of the new FT-9 and FT-iQ; but what is next?Well, the USPTO records indicate that Callaway has filed a trademark application for the mark FT-iZ...

Now Here Is A Driver That Will Put A ?Smile? On Any Golfer's Face

Posted on September 15, 2008
The following club head design comes from a ?creative? South African inventor. The inventor was granted USPN 5944620 titled ?Golf Club? in 1999. Check out this club!And now you know where the ?smile? reference comes from. I suppose this club may work for those of us that have a tendency to occasionally hit the ball toward the toe or heel of the face...

Attention Cold Weather Golfers, This Club May Be Just What You Need

Posted on September 14, 2008
We all know that feeling to hitting that first ball on a cold day. The sting that starts at your fingers and travels down to your toes. A pair of inventors decided to take a stab at eliminating the feeling that you just struck a rock at 100 mph. Their invention is disclosed in USPN 5899818 titled ?Temperature Compensated Golf Club Head,? which describes the invention as:A golf club head is provided with an impact surface formed of a shape memory alloy...

Is This The New Callaway FT-i Driver?

Posted on September 13, 2008
Most golfers can easily recognize the overall shape and boxy face of the popular Callaway FT-i driver. Does this design patent reveal a new variation of the FT-i?Of course this is not the new Callaway driver, but would you ever expect to see such a similar design from over 25 years ago! Boy was this inventor ahead of his time...

Big John Don?t Get No Respect & Has to Sue Hippo Golf Again

Posted on September 10, 2008
Remember my post back in April regarding John Daly?s battle with Hippo Holdings in an effort to collect a $2.7 judgment that he secured? If not click HERE to refresh your memory.Last week John launched his third lawsuit in the past couple years regarding his relationship with Hippo Golf...

Now Here Is a Training Device That Could Improve Anyone?s Game!

Posted on September 08, 2008
OK, that title may be a stretch, but check out this training aid.....Of course, a steerable fin on the top of a club head. Perfect!The drawings come from a 1974 patent titled ?Golf Swing Training Device.? (USPN 3829102) The patent describes the invention as:This is an improvement on training attachments on the head of a golf club...

What Golfer Wouldn?t Want a ?Straight Shot Golf Club?? Well, I Would Have to Pass on This One

Posted on September 06, 2008
Could the inventor of this golf club actually be a golfer?   The club on the left is listed as a 12 degree club and the one on the right is a 0 degree club. Nice photos! The golf club is disclosed in the patent application that published as US Pub No 20060211513 titled ?Straight Shot Golf Club Head,? and describes the invention as: The straight shot golf club helps golfers eliminate many hours of their golf time, trying to locate a golf ball that they sliced when hit by their golf club that landed in the woods...

Golf Club Head of the Future? Probably Not, But Interesting Nonetheless

Posted on September 05, 2008
Did you ever see the photo of an alligator that died trying to swallow another alligator? The problem was that they were both about the same size. Well, recently I came across a patent application disclosing a club head that reminded me of the alligator photo...

A Training Ball That I Would Have to See to Believe

Posted on September 03, 2008
An interesting golf ball patent issued last week that I would have to see to believe that it works. The patent is USPN 7416493 titled ?Golf Training Apparatus? and describes the invention as: A training golf ball apparatus designed to imitate the realistic feel, weight, acoustic and flight characteristic of a real (regulation standard) golf ball, to allow a golfer to practice the sport in a realistic way safely at home, includes mechanized flights concealed within a cavity of the golf ball; a lightweight ball component and a magnetized tee...

Badminton Shuttlecock or Golf Tee?

Posted on September 02, 2008
An interesting design patent issued today. Check out these drawings:The patent is USPN D576236 titled ?Golf Tee.?Interesting design! Would these tees find their way into your golf bag?Dave Dawsey  - Keeping an Eye on Golf Tee PatentsPS ? check out other golf tee related posts here    

How Well Can You Judge the Grain of a Green? Perhaps This Ball Marker Invention Will Help

Posted on September 01, 2008
I have enough trouble reading the break of greens, let alone factoring in the grain. However, if you are one of the golfers that is good enough to actually take the grain of a green into account then this ball marker may have some appeal to you. The invention is disclosed in a patent application that published last week as US Pub...

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