In a fitting conclusion to what has amounted to a tumultuous quarter in all facets of the golf industry, a major development has arisen regarding a highly-publicized spat between two of the industrys giants.The saga between Acushnet Company and Callaway Golf Inc. may finally be nearing its twilight as the United States District Court in Wilmington, DE has granted Callaways request for permanent injunction to stop sales of Acushnets current line of Titleist Pro V1 family of golf balls, effective no later that Jan. 1, 2009.
Callaway filed its initial suit in February of 2006, alleging that Acushnet, parent company of Titleist, used technology covered by four Callaway patents when manufacturing the widely-used Pro V1 golf ball line. The patents, which Callaway acquired when it purchased Top-Flite Golf out of bankruptcy in 2003, concerned the multilayer solid-core construction of the Pro V1. Callaway attested that the patents in question include technology that enables “performance that had previously eluded the golf industry.” In December of last year, Callaway Golf won a patent-infringement jury verdict against Acushnet, which Acushnet later appealed. In June of this year, Acushnet secured a small victory as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office moved one patent to the appeal stage and closed prosecution on a second patent, ruling it invalid.
In the latest ruling, Callaway may have struck the final and deciding blow of the dispute. Immediately following the ruling, Acushnet filed an appeal to seek relief from the injunction. Joe Nauman, executive vice president, corporate and legal of Acushnet, said in a statement, “ its important to recognize that this ruling will not have any impact on our ability to supply our customers with Pro V1 golf balls.”
Nauman said that Titleist converted production of existing Pro V1 models so they were outside of the patents in question, and added that Titleist will be introducing “new and improved” Pro V1 balls in the first quarter of 2009 that are “outside the scope of the patents in question.” Nauman said Acushnet has over 650 active golf ball patents, and that over 65 of those are related to the Pro V1 line. “We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and we fully expect to prevail in having all claims of all four patents at issue determined to be invalid in the appeal process,” he continued. Nauman said Acushnet was confident in the appeal because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had issued final office actions determining that the patents were invalid.
During the same hearing, the court also rejected Acushnets request to overturn the jurys December 2007 verdict.
Following the rulings, Callaway said that it will allow professional golfers to continue using the Pro V1 through the end of 2008. The Pro V1 is easily the most widely used golf ball on the PGA Tour.
Steve McCracken, senior executive VP, chief administrative officer of Callaway, had this to say following the ruling, “Callaway Golf has invested millions of dollars in Research and Development to create innovative products for millions of golfers around the world, and has protected those products with one of the broadest patent portfolios in golf.We are very pleased with today's decision which will stop the sale of these infringing Pro V1 golf balls.”
When contacted by SEW,representatives for Acushnet declined to expand on information outside the press release, and would not indicate what ramifications the ruling would have on the companys extended financial outlook.
The appeal process may decelerate the impending halt of the manufacturing and distribution of the Pro V1, but a total reversal of the decision seems unlikely. It remains unclear as to what lies ahead for the golfer who wants to purchase Pro V1s that utilize technology similar to the current design, but for the very immediate future, at least, they will remain on the shelves.
