Three golf ball sellers must defend against patent infringement claims in a Massachusetts federal court as their motions to dismiss were denied. The defendant sellers argued that the case should be dismissed due to a lack of personal jurisdiction — they contended the plaintiff, Acushnet Co., could not prove the defendants had the minimum contact with Massachusetts necessary to obtain personal jurisdiction.
Acushnet is the owner of Titleist, perhaps the most popular golf ball brand. In a federal action filed in Massachusetts during Spring 2015, the plaintiff alleged that the defendants infringed on Titleist’s “triangular dipyramid dimple pattern,” whereby the defendants sold balls using the pattern. Each defendant allegedly purchased the questionable golf balls from the same Taiwanese company before reselling them to their respective customers. The dispute is infamously known as “Dimplegate.”
U.S. Dustrict Judge William G. Young did not give a reason for denying the defendants’ motions to dismiss. The decision was issued via a handwritten note on a scheduling order.