The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently entered a final judgment of non-infringement in favor of Taylor Made Golf Company and The Roger Cleveland Golf Company, ending a patent infringement suit filed by Henry-Griffitts, Inc. in 2004.
Henry-Griffitts had alleged in the suit that the club fitting systems used by Taylor Made and Cleveland infringed on their patent.
After a federal judge in the Southern District of California ruled in January of 2006 for Taylor Made and Cleveland, Henry-Griffitts appealed. Oral arguments were held at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington D.C. on November 6, 2006. The Federal Circuit ruling affirmed the judgment of the District Court, defeating the claims of Henry-Griffitts in their entirety, and awarded costs of the appeal to Cleveland Golf and Taylor Made.
Don Reino, general counsel for Cleveland Golf, and Bill Reimus, general counsel for Taylor Made, said in a statement that “while Cleveland Golf and Taylor Made respect the intellectual property rights of others, each company would defend against what they believe to be frivolous claims with the same passion their respective companies use in making golf equipment.”
