Callaway Golf Company has seized 27,000 club-heads from Newport Golf, an Anaheim, California-based entity controlled by a Jimmy Lin. A court-mediated settlement recently gave Callaway Golf over $800,000 and 28,000 other golf club components valued at more than $500,000, plus the right to conduct a final inspection of Lin's inventory. It was during that final inspection that the additional 27,000 club-heads, valued at over $500,000, were found and seized.
In January, Callaway reported a record 2003 year for patent enforcements. The company conducted enforcement actions in 11 countries resulting in the seizure or forfeiture of more than 37,000 counterfeit or infringing golf clubs, components, shirts, bags and other items. In all, the company recovered more than $1 million in cash from businesses that had sold golf clubs or components that infringed Callaway Golf's intellectual property. This latest confiscation represents about 75% of last years entire seizures, all under one roof.