Callaway Golf Loses Jury Verdict at the Federal Circuit

"In November 2008, the entered a permanent injunction in favor of Callaway at the conclusion of a patent infringement lawsuit in which Acushnet's Pro V1 ball was found to infringed several patents obtained by Callaway when it bought Top Flite. Originally, Callaway Golf Company brought suit against Acushnet Company, alleging that Acushnet had infringed various claims of four golf ball patents owned by Callaway."

"These four patents were referred to as "the Sullivan patents," taking this designation from the named inventor. The four Sullivan patents in question in the litigation were U.S. Patent Nos. 6,210,293, 6,503,156, 6,506,130 and 6,595,873. At issue are claims 1, 4, and 5 of the '293 patent, claims 1-3 of the '156 patent, claim 5 of the '130 patent, and claims 1 and 3 of the '873 patent. Earlier today the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overruled the jury verdict and various other rulings entered by the district court and remanded the case back to the District of Delaware for further consideration. See Callaway Golf Co. v. Acushnet Co. (Fed. Cir., August 14, 2009)."

"In reading the decision it is clear why the Federal Circuit vacated the decision of the district court, so in this regard the decision of the CAFC was not at all surprising. On another level, the decision of the CAFC is enormously surprising. The Federal District Court for the District of Delaware is widely regarded as one of the top patent courts in the country, and it is indeed rare to see a decision from this particular courthouse that is so obviously flawed. I guess we all make mistakes, and judges are human too."

"The core invention in the litigation can be understood by looking at claim 1 of the '293 patent, which states: 1. A golf ball comprising: a core; an inner cover layer having a Shore D hardness of 60 or more molded on said core, said inner cover layer having a thickness of 0.100 to 0.010 inches, said inner"

Callaway sued Acushnet alleging infringement of four Sullivan golf ball patents (U.S. Nos. 6,210,293; 6,503,156; 6,506,130; 6,595,873) covering specific cover and core constructions and several numbered claims. A district court previously entered a permanent injunction in favor of Callaway after finding Acushnet's Pro V1 ball infringed. The Federal Circuit reviewed the case, overruled the jury verdict and various district rulings, vacated the lower-court decision, and remanded the matter to the District of Delaware for further consideration. The appellate ruling surprised observers given the Delaware court's strong patent-court reputation; the core invention centers on claim 1 of the '293 patent.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law