Patent Law

Golf-Patent?s ?Hot List? Golf Irons

Posted on January 04, 2010
The Golf Digest Hot List 2010 is out and they seemed to have overlooked an important category; namely, the shank-resistant iron category. In the past I have posted (here and here) about golfers obsession with clubs designed to prevent hosel rockets, but somehow I have overlooked this beauty of a club...

Need Something Ridiculously Simple to Sound Incredibly Advanced? Hire a Patent Attorney

Posted on December 30, 2009
Familiar with the TaylorMade Targa Tour Glove and its ?patent pending micro-perforated leather construction to increase airflow throughout the hand and allow for 360 degree ventilation?? Nice looking glove, right. Check out the link, and these figures: A patent application recently published directed to this perforated glove construction...

Putting Woes? How About a New Grip for the New Year

Posted on December 27, 2009
Any chance this grip can help your putting? The grip is disclosed in a patent that issued last week as USPN 7635309 titled ?Grip Arrangement for Golf Club.? The patent describes the invention as: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...

Really, More Golf Shoe Cleat Patent Infringement Litigation?

Posted on December 24, 2009
On Monday Trisport, Ltd. and Pride Manufacturing Company, LLC, maker of Softspikes brand golf shoe cleats, sued MacNeill Engineering Company, Inc., maker of Champ brand golf shoe spikes, alleging infringement of three patents (USPN?s 5974700, 6272774, and 6810608), and accusing MacNeill of falsely marking their products with respect to USPN 5036606...

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How Many Golfers Out There Are Really Using Swing Trainers or Exercisers?

Posted on December 22, 2009
Maybe it?s just me, but I don?t personally know a single golfer using swing trainer / swing exercise devices. However, I definitely would give one a try if I thought it had a shot at actually improving my game. Therein lies the problem, it is hard for me to look at these devices and think ?that?s going to help my game, sold!? I had this same problem when reviewing a patent that recently issued as USPN 7,625,320 titled ?Swing Training Apparatus and Method...

A Putter Grip Unlike Any Other

Posted on December 19, 2009
Check out this beauty of a putter grip! The drawings come from a recently published patent application; namely, US Pub. No. 20090312114 titled ?Golf Putter with a New Type of Grip.? The application explains:The invention provides a new type of putter for golfers to improve their putting accuracy and stability...

GolfNow Receives Patent for an ?Online Golf Reservation System?

Posted on December 17, 2009
Familiar with the GolfNow tee time reservation system that seems to be pimped nonstop on The Golf Channel by the Billy Mays of golf instruction? Well, this week GolfNow was granted USPN 7,634,426 titled ?Golf Reservation System,? which may surprise some people...

Taking the ProV1 Dispute to the Supreme Court; Perhaps

Posted on December 16, 2009
Back in August I authored a post titled ?US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: ?Irreconcilably Inconsistent Jury Verdicts? Results in Remand for a New Trial Regarding the Original ProV1 Patent Infringement Lawsuit.? Then, in October we learned of the of the new trial dates...

The Future of Portable Golf Gadgets? Garmin Hopes So

Posted on December 14, 2009
Brace yourself. I don?t want to get your hopes up right before Christmas, but this invention would likely change the way most of us play a round of golf. The invention is disclosed in a recently published Garmin patent application; namely, US Pub. No...

Having Trouble with a Balanced Swing? This Invention May Help

Posted on December 13, 2009
This summer I was fortunate to attend a long drive / trick shot demonstration by ?professional long driver and golf entertainer? Tom Roskos. The guy is amazing; just try hitting a ball like THIS someday. Much of his demonstration involves amazing feats of balance, including hitting long drives while balancing on top of an exercise ball...

Finally, A Golf Ball with Randomly Arranged Craters to Produce Excellent Aerodynamic Symmetry

Posted on December 07, 2009
What? That?s right, craters, not dimples, randomly arranged to produce excellent aerodynamic symmetry. Counterintuitive, right? Last week a golf ball aerodynamics related patent application became publically available and I could not put it down. The patent application published as US Pub...

Ahh, Is There a Better Sound Than a Purely Struck Drive? You May Soon Be Able to Tune Your Driver

Posted on December 04, 2009
Few things put a smile on a golfer?s face like the sound of a 300 yard drive. Sure, there are a handful of drivers out there that are characterized by a rather unique sound that some, myself included, would say is hideous, but there is no doubt that the sound produced by a driver influences the purchasing decision...

Looking to Make Room in Your Bag for an Extra Club? How About a Combination Sand Wedge and Putter

Posted on December 01, 2009
That?s right, a combination sand wedge and putter. Not exactly the two clubs that most golfers would think of combining. Check out this club! This unique combination club is found in USPN 5090703 titled ?Golf Sand Wedge and Putter,? which explains:A golf club for use as a sand wedge and as a putter, in which the ball-engaging face of the club head has a rectangular central opening through which sand can pass during a stroke while the club is used as a sand wedge...

Is Your Putter?s Face Perfectly Flat? Does it Have Precision Ground Grooves?

Posted on November 27, 2009
DeLaCruz Golf Designs hopes not; after all, they have filed a patent application covering a putter design with a precision ground face and precision ground grooves. The application states that conventional face milling leaves many small imperfections in the metal surface that can affect the angle at which a golf ball bounces off of the putter...

Think Tiger Will Be Playing These Nike Irons?

Posted on November 26, 2009
Nike is at it again with another interesting iron design. They have definitely been challenging convention golf club design; click HERE and HERE to check out some recent posts on radical Nike designs. Today, a Nike patent application published as US Pub...

Got the Yips? This Grip May Be the Solution

Posted on November 24, 2009
Recently a patent issued that takes on that nasty condition golfers refer to as the yips. The patent is USPN 7607990 titled ?Yip Grip Squeeze Pressure-Indicating Golf Club Grip? and explains:Golfers of all skill levels experience increased difficulty putting when mental stress level is high and an affliction known as "the yips" is encountered...

Taylor Made?s Latest Adjustability Concept

Posted on November 21, 2009
Every golfer knows that ?adjustability? is a key aspect to Taylor Made?s recent marketing. There is the widely known movable weight technology (MWT) and flight control technology (FCT), as well as the lesser known adjustable grip technology (AGT) that I wrote about last month (see the post HERE)...

Will Golf Ball Covers Get Softer or Harder? Brush Up on Your Knowledge of Ionomers, Polyurethanes, and Polyureas

Posted on November 19, 2009
I am sure that I am not the only golfer that assumed golf ball covers would be getting softer and softer as a result of the new groove regulations. Well, today an Acushnet patent application published revealing that the opposite may be true. The patent application published as US Pub...

Have You Ever Wondered if There is a Better Way to Connect a Shaft to a Golf Club Head? Bizarre Golf Club Patent of the Week

Posted on November 18, 2009
Have you ever considered why a shaft connects to a hosel? Ever spend a sleepless night wondering if there was a better way? Me neither, but that is probably why I am not a golf club designer and inventor. The inventors of USPN 6514153 titled ?Golf Club Head? have definitely questioned the wisdom of the traditional shaft - to hosel - to club head body attachment strategy...

Wrap Up of the Week of Wild Putter Designs

Posted on November 14, 2009
There are way too many wild putter designs to ever cover them all, but this week we have started to scratch the surface. As you have seen, most have some rational basis but take it to an often irrational extreme. In fact, at first blush many putter patents appear ridiculous, but if you really read them they make you scratch your head and wonder if there it something to it...

Yep, Hollow Rigid Spikes Are the Key to a Good Putter ? Day Four of the Week of Wild Putter Designs

Posted on November 12, 2009
Increase bite, minimize skid, improve roll,? good concepts, but is this the putter to do it? The design comes  from USPN 6110057 titled ?Jiro Putter,? which explains the invention as:The instant invention is a golf putter comprising a shaft with an enlarged gripping portion at one end and a novel low profile putter head precisely positioned at the other end...

Week of Wild Putter Designs, Day Three ? Finally a Putter That Allows You Ignore the Break of Greens

Posted on November 11, 2009
Your dreams have been answered. No more having to worry about the pesky slope, or grain, of a putting green. This putter does it all! This putter design is found in USPN 6183379 titled ?Golf Putter,? which describes the putter as:A golf putter including a head having a face, a shaft and a grip...

Day Two of the Week of Wild Putter Designs

Posted on November 10, 2009
Could this flatstick find a place in your bag? The drawings come from USPN 6520865 titled ?Golf Club Putter Head Design,? which does little to explain the benefits of this particular putter design.A golf putter is provided which has a vertical arcuate striking face wherein the height of the striking face is at least as high as the diameter of a golf ball...

Are You Ready for a Week Devoted to Wild Putter Designs?

Posted on November 09, 2009
Here comes a week made in heaven for putter enthusiasts. OK, that may be a stretch, but I am committing to a week of posts directed to unconventional putters. Yes, many will be entertaining, yet ridiculous, putters that never had a chance at making to the market, but there may be some containing interesting features that should have made it to the market...

Bizarre Golf Patent of the Week

Posted on November 05, 2009
Check out the beauty of a club found in USPN 5792002 titled ?Golf Club.? Think it could help your game? The patent explains:The present invention relates to an improved golf club construction which has been found to dramatically improve a golfers' swing and enable a golfer to hit a ball longer and straighter than with a conventional club...

Mizuno Granted Patent on the Fast Track Design

Posted on November 03, 2009
If you read the Golf-Patents blog then you are probably familiar with Mizuno?s Fast Track adjustable weight positioning system. Today Mizuno was granted a patent on this unique weight channel system. The patent is USPN 7611424 titled ?Golf Club Head and Golf Club? and describes the invention as:A golf club head of the wood-type, including: a body defining an interior cavity and including a ball-striking face, a sole, a crown, and a ribbon extending rearwardly from the face; an elongated groove that extends along a portion of the ribbon; a weight slidably disposed in the elongated grove; and a fastener affixed to the weight capable of selectively fixing a location of the weight...

What?s Behind PING?s Craz-D Optigraphic Alignment Aid?

Posted on November 02, 2009
Last week a patent application published that is directed to the PING?s Craz-D Optigraphic Alignment Aid (view HERE and HERE). I have never tried one of these putters but they look interesting, and with a fancy name like that there must be some cool science involved...

Don?t Worry About Fixing My Swing, Fit Me With a Club that Minimizes the Ugliness

Posted on October 29, 2009
Isn?t that a large part of club fitting? Well, watch out club fitters because The Yokohama Rubber Co. is looking to automate this process. This week an interesting patent application published as US Pub. No. 20090270204 titled ?Method for Golf Club Selection, and Golf Club,? which describes the invention as:A method for golf club selection uses a behavior of the golf swing when a golf club is gripped and swung...

What Would You Think if a Playing Companion Pulled Out This Invention to Help Them Get Aligned to the Target?

Posted on October 27, 2009
I don?t know what I would do if a playing partner pulled this invention out and started lining up shots. Well, yes I do. First, I would laugh and ridicule them a bit, and then I would probably end up trying it and asking to borrow it. This interesting alignment tool is found in a patent that issued today as USPN 7607988 titled ?Golf Alignment and Targeting System...

One of the First Golf Swing ?Exercise? Systems that Actually Looks Beneficial

Posted on October 26, 2009
The following contraption is one of the few golf exercise devices that actually looks helpful. Check it out. Balanced on one foot on top of a rolling platform, come on, give me a challenge! The drawings come from the recently published patent application US Pub...

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