Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart
Mini Article – Volume 22, Issue 15
Share on Social
The Right Golf Ball
Professional golfers recently assembled in Detroit, Michigan to compete in the PGA Tour’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club. Each player brought along a golf bag full of cutting-edge technology.
The type of golf balls carried by the pros can seem trivial compared to their clubs, especially when considering the amount of time and effort golfers put into purchasing the right set of clubs and selecting the right club for a specific shot. However, choosing the right golf ball and the technology that goes into that golf ball is far from trivial. Golf ball technology accounts for a large chunk of the golf-based US patent applications filed and many of these applications are focused on one thing – improving a golfer’s game.
Bridgeston Golf, for example, developed the golf ball disclosed in US2022/0176205A1 that is specifically designed to improve the game of amateur golfers, whose swing speeds are not as fast as professional golfers. The ball’s layered core enables the ball to incur less spin when hit with full power to improve distance, while also enabling a more desirable high spin on lower power approach shots.
To combat hooking and slicing, Aero X Golf created the golf ball described in US9211442B2. This ball has asymmetric weight distribution resulting from a core formed from non-spherical parts and different specific gravities in other parts that cause a differential between the moments of inertia of different spin axes, all of which help the ball resist hooking and slicing. That’s a lot of complex physics to help offset a golfer’s slice/hook swing!
Acushnet went the opposite direction with its golf ball in US10471307B2 that was designed to have a non-straight flight trajectory. The golf ball has two distinct dimple design patterns on opposite sides of the ball that cause the ball to curve during flight.
Some golf balls even include diodes and microchips, like Nike’s golf ball in US2022/0105418A1. The ball includes an internal microchip and infrared emitting diodes arranged on its outer surface that can be detected by sensors to determine the location of the ball, which could be very useful for those golfers who tend to spend lots of time in the rough.
If you want to improve your game and play like the pros, take advantage of golf ball technology, and select the ball that best suits your game!
Published July 29, 2022
Related Content from Fishman Stewart
First, a big “thank you” to all our readers who have given feedback on our newsletter. We appreciate your interest and insights. It is always a treat to hear from you! Second, we wanted to provide you with updates on some of our most popular articles
“Palworld”— a computer game created and published by Japanese developer Pocket Pair. Released as an early access game in January 2024, it sold over seven million copies on the computer platform Steam in the first five days and had nearly 20 million players in the first two weeks.
This year’s Super Bowl featured a thrilling overtime victory for the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers. With estimates as high as 123 million viewers, America's premier sporting event also serves as a grand stage for creativity and intellectual property protections that enhance the game’s success.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and jewelry sales are usually around $6 billion USD in the United States alone. In 2021, the US Customs and Border Protection agency seized over $1 billion USD worth of counterfeit pieces of jewelry.
Detroit Lions In Copyright Dispute Over Barry Sanders Statue
Fish Tank: Newsletter Volume 24, Issue 3
This season marked many ‘firsts’ for the Lions including unveiling the first statue at Ford Field immortalizing a former Lion: Barry Sanders. However, some may not consider the Sanders statue a clear ‘win’ for the Detroit Lions franchise.
A few years ago, the Copyright Office received a large number of requests from Twilight fans who wanted to get a peek at the registered and unpublished manuscript of Stephanie Meyer’s Forever Dawn.
Demetrious Polychron was a big fan of The Lord of the Rings books by author J.R.R. Tolkien, which described the world of Middle Earth where Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, and other creatures engage in an epic battle of good and evil involving a ring with magical powers.
Public Domain Day is celebrated on January 1st and commemorates the expiration of copyright protection for certain creative works.
Taylor Swift has had an incredible 2023. Her “Eras Tour” has been a massive success, becoming one of the most profitable tours for an artist of all time. The release of the concert film of the tour became the highest-grossing concert film of all time.
Why is IP Protection Crucial for Small Businesses? We understand the challenges faced by small businesses, and we encourage you to take proactive measures to protect your intellectual property.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
