Acushnet loses lawsuit, calls decision ‘mixed’

WILLMINGTON, Del. – Callaway Golf Co., maker of Big Bertha and Steelhead golf clubs, won a jury verdict against Fortune Brands Inc.’s Acushnet unit that three of its golf-ball patents are valid, clearing the way for a another trial on damages.
Callaway sued last year in federal court in Delaware, contending Acushnet infringed patents for multilayered golf balls. Before trial, Acushnet agreed its Titleist Pro V1 balls infringed the patents and contended they weren’t valid.
The jury of four men and four women deliberated about two days following a six-day trial before affirming three of the patents this month. They ruled that two claims of another patent also were valid and that one claim was invalid.
Acushnet, based in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, sells more than $200 million of the balls a year, according to court papers.
“The jury’s mixed decision has created ambiguity,” Joseph Nauman, an Acushnet executive vice president and legal counsel, said in a statement. “We continue to believe that we will ultimately prevail” based on reviews by the court and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. •

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