Patent Law

Deadline: Submissions must be received by 5:00 EST August 1, 2008 (email submissions to ddawsey@invention-protection.com)

Quantity: Only one bounty will be awarded. The first submission meeting the criteria herein will be awarded the bounty within 1 week of notification that that the submission met the Bounty Criteria. I will modify this post to indicate that the bounty has been claimed as soon as the criteria has been met.

Background: The validity of USPN 5735754 has been called into question in light of numerous pieces of prior art; including two golf clubs that were widely available before the patent application was even filed. These clubs include the Hogan H40 and the Nicklaus Air Bear, both seen below. Obviously, these two lines of clubs are not eligible for the present bounty, nor is the AccuForm Whistler. An obscure component manufacturers' club head or non-US club head that meets the Bounty Criteria is most likely to claim this Bounty, however don't rule-out non-US patents and publications.

Bounty Criteria:

1.    US patents will NOT be considered; and

2.    Non-US patents (design and utility) will be considered provided a copy of the publication is provided in the submission and the issue date or publication date is before December 4, 1996; and

3.    Golf club head designs that were not patented will be considered provided that the golf club appeared in a dated publication, such as a retailer catalogue or golf magazine, prior to December 4, 1996 AND the submission includes a copy of the dated publication (the successful Bounty Hunter will have the opportunity to earn an additional $250 if they can ship one of the actual clubs and the associated original publication to me in Columbus, Ohio within 14 days of the deadline); and

4.    The prior art may be of metal construction or wood construction, however it must be a wood or a hybrid (no putters will be considered); and

5.    The prior art must contain a curved slot (actual indentation, not simply painted on graphics) in the sole of the club head with the opening pointing toward the face, as illustrated by the images of the Hogan H40 and Nicklaus Air Bear. Please note that clubs having curved slots formed in the skirt portion of the head (not the sole) do not qualify for this bounty. This Bounty is looking for clubs having curved slots that are in the sole of the head (similar to the Hogan H40 and Nicklaus Air Bear pictured above).