Patent Law

Don?t Mess With the USGA; USGA Sues ISaAC Scoring Systems for Trademark Infringement

Posted on April 21, 2009
On Friday the USGA filed a Complaint accusing ISaAC Scoring Systems of false advertising, service mark infringement, false designation of origin, common law unfair competition, unfair competition under New Jersey Fair Trade Act, misappropriation, and tortuous interference with business relationships...

What?s Next for PING? You Can Probably Guess

Posted on April 20, 2009
Following up on my recent POST regarding a few interesting Callaway trademark applications, what does PING have in store for their future product lines? Not surprisingly, PING is keeping the ?G? and ?i? product lines alive. Earlier this month they filed trademark applications seeking protection for the G15 mark and the i15 mark...

What?s Next for Callaway?

Posted on April 18, 2009
It has been over 1.5 years since I last reported on Callaway?s trademark filings. Well, an update may provide some insight on future Callaway clubs.USPTO records indicate that Callaway intends to use EN FUEGO and JAWS GROOVES as trademarks associated with golf clubs...

Want to Reduce the Scatter of Your Tee Shots? Author of Several Golf Club R&D Books Receives Interesting Elastic Club Head Patent That May Help Out

Posted on April 16, 2009
Are you familiar with Dr. Frank D. Werner? He is the author of a handful of books (example 1, 2) on golf club engineering, and was one of the early supporters of square drivers (see THIS prior post). Based upon his bio, I would bet that Frank is one smart guy...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Do Your Shafts Have Enough Fullerene? Perhaps Insulting Senior Golfers Is a Good IP Strategy

Posted on April 15, 2009
Can you identify this molecular structure? Luckily, the golf shaft designers at SRI Sports know the molecular structure of fullerene. Yesterday, SRI was granted an interesting golf shaft patent; namely, USPN 7517288 titled ?Golf Club Shaft.? The patent describes the invention as:A golf club shaft composed of a laminate of prepregs each containing a matrix resin and reinforcing fibers impregnated with the matrix resin...

The IP Golf Guy Discusses ?Selecting Product and Service Names that Can be Protected? on the Small Business Advocate® Radio Program

Posted on April 14, 2009
I was honored to be a guest on the nationally syndicated Small Business Advocate® radio show this morning. Jim Blasingame and I discussed trademarks and some easy concepts that will help you select names for products and services that are protectable...

Do You Love Golf Enough To Try This Swing Training Aide?

Posted on April 13, 2009
While I do love golf, I am not sure I would be willing to publicly use the device disclosed in the recently issued patent USPN 7513834 titled ?Golf Swing Training Device.? Check it out. Now the explanation:A golfer may practice his golf swing for many hours by hitting large numbers of golf balls and judging the effect on the ball to assess the proficiency of the swing...

Forget About Dual Durometer Grips; How About Variable Durometer Grips!

Posted on April 10, 2009
An interesting golf grip patent recently issued. The patent is USPN 7510483 titled ?Golf Club Grip,? and describes the invention as:A pre-molded or moldable shaft grip includes a pre-configured or moldable section disposed within a substantially circular outer grip layer...

One More Reason to Admire Augusta National ? The Trademark Portfolio

Posted on April 09, 2009
Click HERE to read a post that I authored a couple years ago regarding Augusta's trademark portfolio. Enjoy.David Dawsey  - The Golf Trademark Lawyer

Perhaps I Should Re-Post My 2007 Masters Post and Give Lefty the Credit He Deserves

Posted on April 08, 2009
This week?s GolfWorld magazine had an interesting article titled ?Masters of Design ? A Pair of Green Jacket Winners Also Had a Game in the Area of Club Invention.? I was impressed because I know how tedious it was to do the research necessary for me to write a short post back prior to the 2007 Masters titled ?Which Two Masters Champions Have Been Issued Utility Patents since 1976?? In fact, since my original post I discovered that another Masters champion had been unintentionally left off of my list (and GolfWorld's article); namely Lefty (aka Philip A...

What?s Your Vector Victor? Check Out SRI Sports? Swing Diagnosis System

Posted on April 07, 2009
Recently SRI Sports (the parent company of Srixon and Cleveland Golf) was granted an interesting golf swing diagnosis system patent. The patent is USPN 7502491, which describes the invention as:A computer (15) captures the colored moving image of the golfer (11) who swings by gripping a golf club (12) having colored marks (M1 through M3) attached to a shaft (12a) thereof...

Watch Out Hank Haney! Are Driving Range Kiosks the Future of Golf Lessons?

Posted on April 05, 2009
I doubt it, but driving range kiosks are an interesting idea. Recently a patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090069105 titled ?System and Method for Improving Golf Skills? and explains:Systems and methods for improving golf skills and related features are provided...

Grab Your Tape Measure, Patent Issues on the Proper Way to Determine the Ideal Shaft Length

Posted on April 01, 2009
OK, you start by measuring: (i) the length from the floor to the ankle joint (while wearing shoes of similar heel size to that of a golf shoe), (ii) the length from the ankle joint to the knee joint, (iii) the length from the knee joint to the hip joint, (iv) the length from the hip joint of the shoulder joint, (v) the length from the shoulder joint to the knuckle of the middle finger of the right hand, (vi) you do the Hokey-Pokey, and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about! But seriously, according to the German inventor listed on USPN 7510490 titled ?Method for Determining Length of the Shaft of an Individually Adapted Golf Club? those are the measurements you need to properly determine a golf club shaft length...

Can You Identify This Driver?

Posted on March 31, 2009
It has been a while since I have tested your golf club knowledge, so here we go. This club should be easy to identify given the huge quantity of advertisements and commercials. The following drawings come from a driver design patent that issued yesterday...

Several uPlay Technologies? (now Callaway) Patent Applications Publish, What Is The Next Step in Golf GPS Devices?

Posted on March 30, 2009
Earlier this year Callaway Golf acquired uPlay Technologies and launched the new Callaway uPro website. In the past couple of weeks two uPlay patent applications published giving us the first look at uPlay?s intellectual property.The applications include US Pub...

Everyone Wants a Piece of the Golf GPS Market (Including Qualcomm)

Posted on March 29, 2009
Qualcomm had an interesting patent application publish this week. The application published this week as US Pub. No. 20090082139 titled ?Methods and Apparatus for Determining Distances to Selected Targets on a Golf Course Using a Wireless Communications Device,? which describes the invention as:Devices, apparatus, systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for determining distances to targets, such as targets on a golf course using a wireless communication device...

It is Just a Matter of Time before We See Rory or Anthony Kim Wearing the ?All-In-One Golf Belt? on Tour

Posted on March 26, 2009
Ahh, a patent application directed to incorporating Velcro or magnets into a belt to secure your golf glove, ball marker, repair tool, or ball pouch. I wonder if this application will ever grow into a patent. Regardless, it is entertaining.Check out these drawings...

If You Record Your Swing at the Course or on the Range, I Bet You Would Buy This Product!

Posted on March 25, 2009
Are you one of those golf nuts that records their swings and analyzes every last aspect of it? If so, you will love this little product. The drawings from a patent application that published this week do a better job of describing the invention and I can do with words...

Can You Guess How Much Force is Applied to a Golf Ball as the Cover is Cast Around the Core?

Posted on March 21, 2009
Well, it is far less than I would have guessed. For Acushnet, the answer is approximately 384 pounds of force. The answer comes from a patent application that published this week; namely, US Pub. No. 20090072437 titled ?High Speed Casting of a Golf Ball Layer...

Need a Few More Thoughts in Your Head as You Address the Ball? Try Wondering About Whether Your Ball has a Dimple Pattern Based on a Hexagonal Dipyramid Polyhedron!

Posted on March 20, 2009
Welcome to my world. It is a miracle that I can swing a golf club with all the fascinating (some may say ?useless?) golf information floating around in my head!Several of the more interesting golf patents that issued this week concerned golf ball dimples...

Cool Bridgestone Golf Ball Dimple Patent Issued This Week, Could It Be The Key To Gaining Those Few Extra Yards?

Posted on March 18, 2009
I love patents directed to golf ball aerodynamics and fortunately an interesting one issued this week. Yesterday Bridgestone was granted USPN 7503857 titled ?Golf Ball.? The patent describes the invention as:The invention provides a golf ball having a surface on which are formed a plurality of dimples having a circular outer edge that defines the dimple contour...

DeLaCruz Golf Designs Granted Putter Design Patent Today

Posted on March 17, 2009
Familiar with the DeLaCruz SweetSlot line of putters? If not, check them out because they deserve a look.Well, today DeLaCruz Golf Designs was granted a design patent on some form of the SweetSlot putter. I say "some form" because the alignment features on the putter in the patent do not seem to match those of any of the putters on their website...

The New Plop Golf Centered Shafted Hosel Technology?. Breakthrough or Fluff?

Posted on March 14, 2009
Recently Plop Golf has reemerged on the golf scene touting a new Center Shafted Hosel (CSH) technology. As with anything new, some have questioned whether the CSH technology is marketing hype or truly a technology improvement based upon sound engineering...

Am I the Only Golfer That Thinks Scented Golf Grips are Unnecessary?

Posted on March 13, 2009
Back in December I wrote a post about a scented grip designed by Scotty Cameron. That was a little hard to believe, but then yesterday another patent application published directed to adding scent to a golf grip. Why? Why I ask? Can?t golfers just enjoy the clean fresh natural scent of a golf course!The patent application published as US Pub...

Next Hot Putter Grip or Broken Finger in the Making?

Posted on March 12, 2009
An interesting putter grip patent application published today. Check out the putter grip disclosed in US Pub. No. 20090069106 titled ?Grip Arrangement for Golf Club.? The application explains:An improved grip arrangement for a golf club. The grip arrangement comprises a grip extension that extends substantially orthogonally from the shaft of the club and oriented to be substantially parallel to the club face...

If One Shaft is Good Then Two Shafts Must Be Better?. Right? The Wedge and Putter Edition

Posted on March 10, 2009
Back in December I wrote a POST about a dual shafted driver. Never did I think that I would be writing a post about a two shafted putter and wedge just a few months later.I recently discovered USPN 5547196 titled ?Two-Shafted Golf Wedge Club and Method for Using Same...

What Has This Inventor Been Smoking?

Posted on March 08, 2009
What would be your reaction if a member of your foursome started using their putter as a pipe (probably not to smoke tobacco)?Recently I came across USPN 6454661 titled ?Golf Club with Smoking Pipe Attachment.? The patent describes the invention as:It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a golf club which incorporates a smoking means and, in particular, a smoking pipe...

Do You Really Understand the Technology in Your Golf Shaft? Harrison Sports Granted Interesting Golf Shaft Patent

Posted on March 05, 2009

The Love Continues: Callaway Sues Acushnet Regarding the Converted 2007 Pro V1?s and the New 2009 Pro V1x Golf Balls; Acushnet Sues Callaway Regarding the Tour i and Tour ix Golf Balls

Posted on March 03, 2009

Hot New Golf Swing Practice Device or Next Big Flop?

Posted on March 02, 2009

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.