titleist stole pro v design from bridgestone

[karlos_maximus]

ball designs

did any ones else no that titleist stole the deign of the prov from bridgestone. my dad knows the titleist rep and he was tellin him that for every prov sold one dollar has to go to bridgestone, so on a dozen balls sold bridgestone get 12 dollars did anybody else no of this????

[skinkman]

there was a lawsuit a while back by B'stone golf. Didn't know they had settled it. Infact, the case is still pending...are you sure?

[CRutherford]

I was lead to believe that the case and settlement were still pending.

[Konklifer]

did any ones else no that titleist stole the deign of the prov from bridgestone. my dad knows the titleist rep and he was tellin him that for every prov sold one dollar has to go to bridgestone, so on a dozen balls sold bridgestone get 12 dollars did anybody else no of this????

 

I'm not saying you're wrong but $1/ball sold goes to Bridgestone????? Not only does that sound steep but why on earth would a Titleist rep. say that?. Is there any concrete evidence?

[nlacross]

I find that hard to believe, I really do! If Titleist stole the ProV idea from Bridgestone, I think there would be a civil lawsuit against Titleist for this instead of some janky $1 per ball deal.

 

Exactly what are the specifics?? What ideas did Titleist take from Bridgestone regarding the ball?

[Gozz]

Actually it's Bridgestone & Callaway that is suing Acushnet over the patent rights of the Pro V1. Titleist hired Michael Sullivan (he created the Pro V1) away from Top-Flite when they were in bankruptcy. Callaway purchased Top-Flite & Sullivan's patents, which include the Pro V1, and thus own the rights to the ball. Bridgestone side of it has something to do with the core technology. Just think, the Pro V1 could of been a Top-Flite product. Would you of bought it then?

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2325986

 

Bridgestone suit: http://thesandtrap.com/archives/balls/brid...es_titleist.php

[seahwk95]

Not saying his facts are 100%, in fact it's hard to lend credibility to a post with these grammatical errors (know vs. no). But......here's a link to an article regarding Bridgestone suing Acushnet. So, he's in the ballpark at least.

 

Sandtrap Article

 

Good save Gozz :)

[Gozz]

Not saying his facts are 100%, in fact it's hard to lend credibility to a post with these grammatical errors (know vs. no). But......here's a link to an article regarding Bridgestone suing Acushnet. So, he's in the ballpark at least.

 

Sandtrap Article

 

Good save Gozz :)

 

 

Thanks, I had to hop off the short bus to find that one on google. My helmet got in my eyes so it took me a little longer to get it typed in. :cheesy:

[Onebulldogs]

Golf ball mfg is all about patents. All the major mfgs have patents on various things. BUT - no mfg has ALL the patents to everything. As a result, they license and cross-license technology to each other all the time. It is quite possible, Achusnet pays a royalty for the legal use of Bridgeston patents in the ProV1.

 

Other posts mention a variety of lawsuits, these are occuring b/c patents are often overbroad and/or ineffective. If you want to challenge a patent, you can allege:

1. It doesn't apply;

2. the patent is should not have been granted; and/or

3. the item does not fall within the patent's coverage.

 

Since Cally and Bridgestone are in litigation, Titleist would NOT be paying royalties on disputed patents until the lawsuits are resolved by the court or by settlement. The fact they are all suing each other is just business. Nothing special.

[Speeder617]

Not saying his facts are 100%, in fact it's hard to lend credibility to a post with these grammatical errors (know vs. no). But......here's a link to an article regarding Bridgestone suing Acushnet. So, he's in the ballpark at least.

 

Sandtrap Article

 

Good save Gozz :)

 

 

seahwk95 - what a great avitar!!!! Juan Epstein in his prime! I used to get that mag back in the day! Where's Vinnie Barbarino? Or Horshack?

[seahwk95]

Thanks Speeder...Funny, sorry a little OT, but WBK is quite possibly my earliest TV memory. For some reason I don't remember watching Sesame Street or anything like that, but I remember the WBK!! I was born in '73 and it ran from '75 to '79 I think.

 

Used Google images and found some great ones!!

 

Sincerely,

Epstein's Mother

[Titleist34]

I dont even care what any of you people say......Titleist is the #1 ball in golf...they stole nothing....they have been building upon the VERY FIRST ProV1 and it is the best ball out right now, hands down!

[msupl]

I agree Titleist is the best ball. They may have "stole" the technology, but they have built on it since then. I've played just about every urethene ball out there and they all go a long ways, but none spin as much as the ProV1X without giving up distance. My clubmaker in town does shaft work on tour for Srixon and he told me that before Bridgestone and Srixon were popular in America, that they would sell their research, designs, etc... to companies like Titleist. But who cares I'll continue buying Titleist golf balls.

[Lionstar]

I don't know nor care about the legal issues but I DO know that about 10 years ago Precept[a bridgestone company] sold a ball called the "Precept Double Cover" and it was AWESOME,,,every decent player I know who tried it switched to it right away,,,about 2 years later the Pro V came out and everyone was talking about the new 3 piece technology Titleist had invented,,,but a LOT of us knew then,,and now that the Precept Double Cover was the precursor of the Pro V,,,but I also admit that the ProV was a little bit better performer than the DC,,,but not THAT much better.

[xxio]

I don't know nor care about the legal issues but I DO know that about 10 years ago Precept[a bridgestone company] sold a ball called the "Precept Double Cover" and it was AWESOME,,,every decent player I know who tried it switched to it right away,,,about 2 years later the Pro V came out and everyone was talking about the new 3 piece technology Titleist had invented,,,but a LOT of us knew then,,and now that the Precept Double Cover was the precursor of the Pro V,,,but I also admit that the ProV was a little bit better performer than the DC,,,but not THAT much better.

 

 

Yup, Faldo used the Double Cover Tour to win the Masters. It came out in the US market together with the Precept Dynawing. They had previously been out in Japan for more than a year before Faldo won with them. The DC Tour made me switch from wound balls.

 

I've even been wondering about the Topflite Strata claims of being the first multi-layer ball. I would assume they were the first in the US, but I remember multi-layer balls from Japan even before the Strata. Can someone with knowledge on Japanese balls back me up here?

[Lionstar]

Yes,,I forgot about the DynaWing,,,it was supposed to replace the Double Cover but as I recall it did not feel quite as good to me as the DC,,but it has been a while ,,maybe a perception thing.

[Gozz]

I dont even care what any of you people say......Titleist is the #1 ball in golf...they stole nothing....they have been building upon the VERY FIRST ProV1 and it is the best ball out right now, hands down!

 

 

Who said that the Pro V1 was a bad ball or that Titleist actually in fact did steal the technology? This is a discussion about the legal action that is being taken against them. As Onebulldogs stated above this kind of litigation happens every day in the corporate world, it's just business not personal. Yes they have improved on the VERY FIRST Pro V1. As stated in the ESPN article they hired the guy who created the Pro V1 away from Top-Flite where the ball was patented (allegedly). So if by "they" you mean "he" ,Michael Sullivan, built upon it & not Titleist you are correct. My question still stands, would you still be a Pro V1 HO if it were a Top-Flite product? I doubt it since you are "Strictly Acushnet." By the way I agree with you, it is the best ball on the market right now!

[QbSpanka11]

settling doesn't always mean guilt... sometimes its cheaper to settle than to go through endless years of litigation.. often time large companies settle just to get their name away from being associated with lawsuits.

[kenfuji]

so are you saying MJ never took advantage of the kids and OJ never killed Nicole? :)

[dbleagleks]

I doubt that the Titleist Rep said this. Anyone working for any of the companies involved are not allowed to say ANYTHING. That is why I will not add anything further. You know how this legal stuff works.