PXG Bob Parsons Suing TaylorMade for Patent Infrigement

[nevets88]

Don't see anything in the major outlets. Will have to wait and see.

https://www.pxg.com/en-us/clubs/irons

https://taylormadegolf.com/P790-Irons/DW-WZ711.html

 

[iacas]

It's spread now and is reported elsewhere.

This should be interesting. Bob Parsons doesn't exactly have shallow pockets.

[billchao]

There were certainly comparisons to PXG irons when the P790s were announced. TPE injected into the hollow cavity is definitely something I associate with PXG, though I'm sure there are more similarities to the manufacturing and design that I don't know about.

[onthehunt526]

Don't know if the P790 irons are the same or different than the 0311T...

I don't have $2800 to shell out for a set of irons (the 0311T) or really $1400 for the TMs and no one has demos of PXG around...

Does Bob think it's got something to do with what is injected to the hollow iron? If it's just because they are hollow headed irons, they all have to pay David Glod loyalties for that...

What material is injected into the P790? I can't remember...

Bob Parsons has enough money, he could buy out TaylorMade if he wanted.

[Typhoon92]

I hope if Bob takes the stand in court he uses his tough guy deep voice from his commercials!

Edited September 13, 2017 by Typhoon92

[Vinsk]

44 minutes ago, iacas said:

It's spread now and is reported elsewhere.

This should be interesting. Bob Parsons doesn't exactly have shallow pockets.

Definitely. Parsons net worth almost 2.5 billion. No small players in this match.

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

Bob Parsons has enough money, he could buy out TaylorMade if he wanted.

He could. But he started his own company, and is suing TaylorMade instead.

[mvmac]

On 9/12/2017 at 7:15 PM, onthehunt526 said:

What material is injected into the P790? I can't remember...

They call it Speed Foam. According to TaylorMade, it different. 

Quote

In the two years TaylorMade spent developing the P-790 irons, it tested several filler materials, one of which was thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), the material PXG uses to fill the inside of its 0311 irons. “The problem with the TPE is that it completely kills your COR,” Bystedt says.

COR, or coefficient of restitution, is the measure of spring-like effect of a golf club. The higher the number, the faster a golf ball rebounds off the club face. To keep the COR of the P-790 irons as high as possible, TaylorMade’s iron design developed Speed Foam. Think of it like EVA, or ethylene vinyl acetate, the cushioning material used in running shoe, Bystedt says. Then think of something “much softer and less dense than that.”

 

[saevel25]

On ‎9‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 9:53 PM, billchao said:

There were certainly comparisons to PXG irons when the P790s were announced. TPE injected into the hollow cavity is definitely something I associate with PXG, though I'm sure there are more similarities to the manufacturing and design that I don't know about.

Taylormade has been using different materials to fill the slots or cavities in their clubs for a while now. This type of technology isn't something new to Taylormade.

 

 

[iacas]

I'm not a lawyer, obviously, but this doesn't feel like the kind of thing PXG will win. TaylorMade could easily show prior art, I think, and end up getting PXG's patents disallowed.

The material isn't the same. The injection process likely isn't the same. The general idea isn't new to PXG.

I don't know what PXG has going for it.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

Taylormade has been using different materials to fill the slots or cavities in their clubs for a while now. This type of technology isn't something new to Taylormade.

I believe it's the first time they've filled the hollow body of the clubhead though. PXG was the first company I heard of doing that, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done before.

For all I know, somebody could have filed a patent on the process ten years ago and never used it in production. I don't know where the line is on two similar designs that serve the same basic purpose is, I'm not well versed in patent law.

[Lihu]

On 9/12/2017 at 7:15 PM, onthehunt526 said:

I don't have $2800 to shell out for a set of irons (the 0311T) or really $1400 for the TMs and no one has demos of PXG around...

If PXG pushes this lawsuit, it would definitely make people think twice before shelling out $2800 for a setup of PXG and wait for something TM has to offer that is similar to the P790 but "patent infringement free".

[iacas]

38 minutes ago, billchao said:

I believe it's the first time they've filled the hollow body of the clubhead though. PXG was the first company I heard of doing that, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been done before.

I believe it's been done well before PXG.

 

Now, commenters say that the ARC (accelerated rebound core) had thicker faces, a different filling material, etc.… but that seems like it could still show prior art if the patent is not super specific.

[NM Golf]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

I don't know what PXG has going for it.

Well they have convinced a lot of people they should shell out upwards of $3000 for a set of irons, they have that going for them.

[Lihu]

Interesting, the more I look at this the more it sounds like PXG is just trying to protect their $2800 club sets. Maybe they should golf plate it like Honma and use more exotic materials?

 

Quote

The material, called SpeedFoam, was suggested to the iron team engineers by colleagues in the golf ball side of TaylorMade’s business. It’s not a material used in golf balls, but it had the right properties to allow the thin face to flex while not adding weight that would negatively affect the center of gravity location.

I see myself in the market for one of these TM sets, once my kids are safely out of college. . .

Edited September 14, 2017 by Lihu

[billchao]

43 minutes ago, iacas said:

I believe it's been done well before PXG.

 

Now, commenters say that the ARC (accelerated rebound core) had thicker faces, a different filling material, etc.… but that seems like it could still show prior art if the patent is not super specific.

Right, so like you mentioned earlier, it could end up negating PXG's patent claim. If their process is different enough from from Nickent's to warrant it's own patent, the argument could be made in favor of Taylormade for the same.

Dick's Sporting Goods owns Nickent, right? Maybe they own that patent or sold it to PXG. I'm going to stop now because I'm really just speculating.

[iacas]

36 minutes ago, billchao said:

Right, so like you mentioned earlier, it could end up negating PXG's patent claim. If their process is different enough from from Nickent's to warrant it's own patent, the argument could be made in favor of Taylormade for the same.

Dick's Sporting Goods owns Nickent, right? Maybe they own that patent or sold it to PXG. I'm going to stop now because I'm really just speculating.

Yeah who knows.

If I'm bored I'll look for the PXG patents.

[JxQx]

I would assume Taylormade would have their lawyers look into it before even trying to release something like this but who knows. Also in 1993 Taylormade released the burner midsized iron which was a foam filled, so this isn't really a completely new concept.