If You Ever Drew an Alignment Line on Your Ball, You Might Get Sued

Every now and again, I head over to David Dawsey's golfing intellectual property blog.  He is a lawyer by trade and helps small golf companies in securing patents and protecting the inventions.  His blog looks at patent filings in the golf industry and the upcoming technologies that golf companies are thinking about for the future.

He also looks at the very lucrative industry of golf IP lawsuits.  Manufacturers make millions (and lose millions) every year in the cat and mouse game of lawsuits in which companies claim stolen technologies.  Case in point is the Callaway-Acushnet suit.

Acushnet is being sued again.  This time, by a much smaller company.  What for?  I'll let David tell you.

Lombardi Golf Designs is alleging that the alignment sidestamps on the Titleist Pro V1, Titleist Pro V1x, Titleist NXT Tour, Titleist NXT Extreme, Titleist DT Carry, Titleist DT Roll, Pinnacle Platinum Feel, Pinnacle Platinum Distance, Pinnacle Gold FX Soft, and Pinnacle Gold FX Long, infringe Lombardi’s design patent US Design Patent No. D458978 titled "Golf Ball Demarcation."

Basically, Lombardi Golf is suing in claiming that the line Titleist puts on their balls to help you line up putts is a patent infringement.  Lombardi Golf has held the patent in question since 2002.

I can't believe that the US Patent and Trade Office even gave Lombardi a patent for this idea.  I've been doing this for years before 2002!  I should've filed for a patent!  Had I known that drawing on a golf ball could be intellectual property, I would have filed a patent for my trademark "ball encouragement technology."

You can create your own intellectual property at Titleist's website.