Titleist Appeals Patent Decision
NEW BEDFORD — The Acushnet Co. has appealed its loss in a patent dispute over its Titleist Pro V1 golf balls to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to company officials.
Chairman and CEO Wally Uihlein said that one of the key arguments working in favor of Titleist is the decision reached by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the four Callaway-owned patents in question should never have been issued in the first place.
As Callaway Golf Co. advanced its lawsuit, the court did not permit the jury to know about the patent office's decision.
"We believe this resulted in the trial court coming to the wrong conclusion," Mr. Uihlein said in a prepared statement.
On Nov. 10, U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson issued a permanent injunction to block Acushnet Co. from selling Pro V1 and Pro V1x balls after Jan. 1.
But the company countered by announcing that it has redesigned the balls for the fourth time and the disputed patents are no longer in use in the revised product, which will be rolled out in the first months of the new year. Mr. Uihlein said that the new balls exceed the performance of the previous ones, which are by far the most successful golf ball.
Callaway, which is seeking unspecified damages, itself doesn't use the patents, which it acquired with the purchase of Spalding-Top Flite, which filed them in 2001 and 2003, after the Pro V1 was introduced.
Mr. Uihlein said players on the worldwide professional golf tours can use the new 2009 Pro V1 models when the tour schedules resume in January. "The new 2009 models will feature different side stamps and packaging and appear as different listings on the USGA Conforming Ball List," Mr. Uihlein said.
Chairman and CEO Wally Uihlein said that one of the key arguments working in favor of Titleist is the decision reached by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the four Callaway-owned patents in question should never have been issued in the first place.
As Callaway Golf Co. advanced its lawsuit, the court did not permit the jury to know about the patent office's decision.
"We believe this resulted in the trial court coming to the wrong conclusion," Mr. Uihlein said in a prepared statement.
On Nov. 10, U.S. District Court Judge Sue Robinson issued a permanent injunction to block Acushnet Co. from selling Pro V1 and Pro V1x balls after Jan. 1.
But the company countered by announcing that it has redesigned the balls for the fourth time and the disputed patents are no longer in use in the revised product, which will be rolled out in the first months of the new year. Mr. Uihlein said that the new balls exceed the performance of the previous ones, which are by far the most successful golf ball.
Callaway, which is seeking unspecified damages, itself doesn't use the patents, which it acquired with the purchase of Spalding-Top Flite, which filed them in 2001 and 2003, after the Pro V1 was introduced.
Mr. Uihlein said players on the worldwide professional golf tours can use the new 2009 Pro V1 models when the tour schedules resume in January. "The new 2009 models will feature different side stamps and packaging and appear as different listings on the USGA Conforming Ball List," Mr. Uihlein said.
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