Good God! Get Your Pro V1s NOW!

In September, Callaway won a lawsuit against Acushnet - the parent company of Titleist - for patent infringement related to technology and process used to create the current generation of Pro V1 ball.

Callaway decided to take things a step further, and they won.

The U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., granted Nov. 10 Callaway’s request for a permanent injunction stopping sales of the current line of Pro V1 family of golf balls, according to Callaway officials.

It's not all bad news because of the endless appeal cycle in our judicial system.

The Titleist camp, however, immediately countered, saying it would appeal the ruling. It maintained the court’s action would “not have any impact on our ability to supply our customers with Pro V1 golf balls.”

Also, Titleist is claiming that they aren't making balls under the same fashion that was the subject of the ruling in favor of Callaway.  Basically, they're saying that they don't make Pro V1s in a way that would violate other patents. 

In September, Titleist converted production of existing Pro V1 models “so that they are outside of the patents in question,” said Joe Nauman, executive vice president, corporate and legal of Acushnet Co., in a written statement. The Fairhaven, Mass.-based company owns the Titleist brand.

But it was unclear how many Pro V1s made before the conversion were still in the retail pipeline.

Titleist also is introducing its next generation of Pro V1 products in the first quarter of 2009; these balls also have been developed outside the scope of the patents in question, according to Nauman.

Therefore, why should they have to stop production?  I don't know that one yet.  But, the damage done between the enormous cost of the appeals process, the potential punitive award that Acushnet will have to pay, and the damage to their reputation as an innovator may be well worth the process for Callaway - fully knowing that the Pro V1 won't stop production forever.  Big win for Callaway today.