I saw this in the LA Times business section:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-call...1&cset=true

From the Los Angeles Times
Callaway sues TaylorMade over golf patents
By Molly Selvin

August 10, 2007

Their golf clubs regularly face off on the green, and now two of the biggest golf equipment manufacturers are facing off in court over another kind of green.

Callaway Golf Co. has filed two suits accusing TaylorMade Golf Co. of violating its patents on three golf clubs and a ball-covering material.

The maker of Big Bertha and Steelhead brand clubs is seeking monetary damages and an order that all the infringing TaylorMade products be destroyed. The company also wants an order permanently blocking TaylorMade from using the disputed technology.

The suits contend that the patent violations have caused Callaway "irreparable injury," according to court documents.

Since the introduction of its oversize Big Bertha driver in 1991, Carlsbad, Calif.-based Callaway has led an arms race among professional golfers and weekend duffers. The company, whose sales topped $1.02 billion last year, sells a line of Big Bertha irons and drivers as well as the full range of golf clubs, balls and other equipment.

TaylorMade, a unit of Adidas Group, also is headquartered in Carlsbad and its products are used by a number of professional golfers.

The TaylorMade patents targeted in these suits include a polyurethane golf ball cover that produces a softer feel and increased ball spin along with a club head used for longer drives, court documents show.

A Callaway representative declined to comment on the lawsuits.

TaylorMade spokesman Scott Leightman said: "We feel good about our case against their allegations. . . . There are two sides to the story." TaylorMade executives believe "many currently available Callaway drivers infringe on several TaylorMade patents covering industry-leading metal wood technologies," Leightman said, adding that the company had not gone to court against Callaway.

Callaway has pursued other competitors over alleged patent infringement in the past. Separate lawsuits filed in 2006 and earlier this year against Acushnet Co., maker of the Titleist and Cobra brand drivers, are pending.

One of the two lawsuits against TaylorMade was filed Saturday in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas, a jurisdiction that patent lawyers say is often friendly to plaintiffs in such cases. The other suit, in which Callaway is seeking relief from patent-infringement claims that TaylorMade might assert against it, was filed Monday in federal court in San Diego.

I think the story is a little off.

The first lawsuit filed Saturday in Texas has to do with a patent Callaway has covering a technology they believe has more to do with irons, not the driver head. Sounds like Callaway has the R7 irons in their sights, but I am not sure.

You can read the patent here:

www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat5704849.pdf

The other suit just filed is definitely over golf ball patents. Callaway has these ones

www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat6638185.pdf
www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat7160207.pdf

and thinks these ones by TM are invalid

www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat6547678.pdf
www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat6991558.pdf
www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat7197575.pdf
www.pat2pdf.org/patents/pat6719644.pdf

The Bridgestone/Acushnet lawsuit is still going strong after 2 years. Funny note, Bridgestone wants to use Nick Price for expert testimony, Acushent is fighting it because obviously Nick didn't design the golf ball nor is he a patent expert, but to add insult to injury in a court filing Acushnet called Nick Price...'a popular and perhaps skilled professional golfer.' LOL.

I wish these guys would knock this crap off...

There's enough money to be made in the club business for everyone.

It's painfully apparent by all the "ho's" on this website...

sounds like callaway is trying or has tried to sue everybody

Why not just sue every company that makes good golf equipment

With good reason, they have a ton of patents, and a history of success in the courtroom.

Maxfli once made the dumb claim on a TV commercial that the A10 was "the longest ball on tour". Callaway amended a lawsuit that they already had against maxfli to include the false advertising claim and won $2M for that one. It was easy, Maxfli's own testing showed they were not the longest ball....oops.

Believe it or not, that is the most interesting thing I have read all day. I have always found it interesting how companies that compete in the same market, making basically that same thing just in a different way, get around each others copyrights. I guess this answered it. They don't, Callaway is just more active in protecting what they consider their property I guess.

It really sounds like if I can't win on the course I will try to win in the courts. Callaway makes good equipment but they are getting smoked by TM both on the tour and in retail.

Really? On what planet?

TM may beat Cally in Driver sales, but it's not even close in irons, putters, and balls...Callaway dominates TM in sales.

Touche. I was specifically talking about metal woods which is what I assumed this whole thing was about.

I didn't really think about balls which of course Callaway is dominating TM. The Hx technology really works and for some reason the TM ball really doesn't take off.

The TM irons are very good and last time I saw the numbers they were quietly but steadily creeping up on Callaway. That could have changed this season though as the new X series was very strong in sales across the board.