Titleist’s Golf Ball IP Litigation: Is There a Dimple Threatening the Case?

An action filed in Spring 2015 by Acushnet, manufacturer of Titleist golf balls, sued ten direct-sale golf companies for patent infringement.  The plaintiff alleged that the defendants were selling golf balls using Titleist’s “triangular dipyramid dimple pattern.”  The pattern has 318 dimples made up of three different dimple sizes and arranged in a particular triangular pattern.

The link between the defendants is that each company purchased their golf balls from the same Taiwanese company before reselling them to customers through direct internet sales.  …

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PGA Tour Seeks Early Exit from Caddy Ad Lawsuit

On Friday August 21, PGA Tour Inc. filed a motion to dismiss with federal court, seeking to end the antitrust class-action lawsuit waged against it by a group of tour caddies.

The lawsuit, brought by 80 PGA Tour caddies back in February, stems from the bibs the PGA requires the caddies to wear while walking the tour courses during tournaments.  The bibs contain advertisements of Tour sponsors and the caddies are not compensated for the advertising space they are forced to wear.  The lawsuit …

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Appeals Court OK’s Lawsuit Against Jack Nicklaus to Go Forward

A Colorado couple succeeded in dragging Jack Nicklaus into a legal battle after a federal appeals court allowed the suit to go forward.

The couple Jeffrey and Judee Donner filed a lawsuit in 2011 against Nicklaus over a misrepresentation of his membership in Mount Holly, a luxury golf resort in Utah that went bankrupt in 2009 before it was even open.  They also alleged that the legend “solicited” them in 2007 to invest $1.5 million in the resort.

More specifically, they mentioned promotional video that …

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McIlroy Settles Management Dispute Out of Court

On Wednesday Morning, February 4, Rory McIlroy and his former management company Horizon Sports Management confirmed a settlement between the two parties, ending the multi-million dollar contract dispute that has dragged out for 2 years.

Back in 2013, Rory McIlroy brought this lawsuit against his former management company claiming the 2011 contract he agreed to was signed under undue influence, informality, and without legal advice, making it invalid and unenforceable.  Horizon responded by claiming the golfer owes millions in unpaid fees and for breaching …

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PGA Caddies: Pay Us to be Human Billboards

Professional caddie Mike Hicks and 81 others filed a class-action against the PGA Tour in U.S. District Court in California, alleging the Tour’s misappropriation of their “likenesses and images in commercial activities.”

The caddies seek for a share of revenue flowing in from caddies wearing bibs that display sponsors’ logos, which amounts to $50 million per year.  According to the suit, the caddies allege that they “are made to serve as billboards to advertise, at the direction of the PGA Tour, for some of the …

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World No.1 Golfer Out for Now to Prepare for Trial Against Horizon

According to the Irish Independent, Rory McIlroy will take a break from golf to handle his legal problems against Horizon Sports Management (“Horizon”).  Currently, McIlroy plans to skip the BMW Masters and the WGC-HBC Champions.  He expects to be back in the game in late November when the World Tour Championship starts in Dubai.

In 2013, McIlroy brought a suit against his former management company Horizon, claiming that his agreement signed in 2011 was invalid due to alleged undue influence.  He claimed that the company …

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High Crimes on the Golf Course?

On February 8, golfers at the Tarpon Springs Golf Course were issued a stern warning by club general manager Chuck Winship upon entering the clubhouse: betting on league play was no longer allowed.  Apparently, Winship was under investigation by the Tarpon Springs Police Department for permitting casual gambling by club members.  Commenting on the investigation, Winship noted, “Originally . . . I thought it was a joke.”  It wasn’t, however – Winship later learned that the investigation had been passed on to the Pinellas-Pasco State …

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PGA Asks Court to Buck Singh’s Deer-Antler Spray Case

A New York judge must decide whether to dismiss Vijay Singh’s case claiming public humiliation against the PGA Tour.  As we reported at that time, in May, Singh sued the PGA for the “reckless administration and implementation” of its anti-doping program.  On October 24, 2013, the PGA asked the judge to dismiss the case.

In January 2013, Sports Illustrated reported that Singh admitted to using a product called “The Ultimate Spray.”  The spray contains trace amounts of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), which is banned by …

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Tiger’s 2013 Grade: “C” for Cheater?

Chances are that Tiger Woods has never gotten an “F” on any test or examination in his life. After all, he’s won 79 PGA Tour events, is a 14-time major champion and, prior to turning professional, spent two years as an undergraduate at Stanford University, one of our nation’s most prestigious institutions. This is at least part of the reason that Brandel Chamblee’s 2013 season-in-review “report card”, published last week on Golf.com, in which he gave Woods a grade of “F” for the season, …

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Singh Fires Back at PGA Tour with Lawsuit Over Deer-Antler Spray Suspension

On May 8, 2013, pro golfer Vijay Singh filed suit against the PGA Tour in New York State Supreme Court for exposing him to “public humiliation and ridicule.”  The suit stems from the Tour’s 12 week investigation into Singh for his use of deer-antler spray.  The Tour dropped its case against on April 30, 2013, citing new information from the World Anti-Doping Agency which said that it no longer prohibits the spray because it only contains minimal amounts of a banned substance, the growth factor …

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