INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT: DESIGN PATENTS FOR GOLF CLUB HEADS (AUGUST 2021)

In simplictic terms, golf is a game played with a small, hard ball and a set of clubs on an outdoor course with 9 or 18 holes. The player tries to hit the ball into each of the holes in turn with the fewest possible strokes. A golf club is composed of a shaft with a hand grip on one end and a club head on the opposite end. Generally, each golf club carried in a player’s golf bag is different, but each club is characterized as one of three types: woods, irons, and putter ("hybrids" also exist). Woods are used for long-distance shots from the tee-box or fairway; putters are used on the green; and irons, being the most versatile, are used for almost all other shots.

Design patents protect any new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. We encourage inventors to consider filing design patent applications when they are developing a new product because design patents have several benefits relative to utility patents. In a previous post, we reviewed USPTO statistics for design patent applications, and found design patent applications can be easier to budget for, more-quickly examined, and more likely to be granted by the Patent Office; and also quite enforceable in court against infringers. Design patents are a great option for protecting your inventive designs.

Golf, being such a popular sport and hobby in the United States, has developed a strong community of inventors and businesses that protects its inventive designs by filing applications for design patents. Indeed, our research found thousands of design patents for golf clubs heads. 

In this Industry Snapshot, we take a look at some of the design patents for golf club heads issued by the USPTO during August of 2021.