Acushnet Company Files Complaint Against Taylor Made Charging False Advertising and Trade Dress Infringement.FAIRHAVEN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 1999-- Acushnet Company The Acushnet Company is a sporting goods company that focuses primarily on golf-related products. History Founded in Acushnet, Massachusetts by Phillip E. "Skipper" Young in 1910, the Acushnet Process Company announced that it filed a lawsuit against Taylor Made Golf Company in Federal District Court in Boston, Massachusetts “Boston” redirects here. For other uses, see Boston (disambiguation). Boston is the capital and most populous city of Massachusetts.[3] The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the unofficial economic and cultural center of the entire New on Friday, November 5, 1999. The lawsuit charges Taylor Made with false advertising, trade dress infringement, false patent marking and trade secret misappropriation misappropriation n. the intentional, illegal use of the property or funds of another person for one's own use or other unauthorized purpose, particularly by a public official, a trustee of a trust, an executor or administrator of a dead person's estate, or by any with respect to the introduction, promotion and advertising of the Taylor Made InerGel golf ball line. The lawsuit focuses in large part on Taylor Made's claims regarding distance loss due to golf ball moisture absorption, Taylor Made's use of a purported moisture barrier package and Taylor Made's claims that other manufacturers provide moisture sealed packages of golf balls to players on the worldwide professional tours. Acushnet contends that Taylor Made has grossly exaggerated the impact of moisture absorption on golf ball distance and denies that Acushnet has ever provided Tour players with golf balls in moisture sealed packages. Acushnet also asserts that Taylor Made misappropriated mis·ap·pro·pri·ate tr.v. mis·ap·pro·pri·at·ed, mis·ap·pro·pri·at·ing, mis·ap·pro·pri·ates 1. a. To appropriate wrongly: misappropriating the theories of social science. the moisture seal package concept from Acushnet, that Taylor Made wrongly obtained a patent on that concept and that Taylor Made falsely claims to utilize the patented concept in its packaging. In addition, the complaint claims that Taylor Made has infringed Acushnet's golf ball packaging trade dress by adopting product names and packaging color schemes nearly identical to Acushnet's well established golf ball models. "Taylor Made's actions regarding the packaging, promotion and advertising of its InerGel golf ball show an egregious disregard for Acushnet's intellectual property and market equity, as well as the truth," commented Wally Uihlein Wally Uihlein (born 1950) in Haverhill, Massachusetts is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Acushnet Company, a subsidiary of Fortune Brands which comprises the golf brands Titleist, FootJoy, Cobra Golf, Pinnacle, and Scotty Cameron. , Acushnet's CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and President. "While we welcome vigorous competition in the golf ball market, we will not tolerate activity which trespasses on our rights, falsely disparages our products and falsely promotes competing products," continued Uihlein. "Our attempts to address these issues privately have been rebuffed by Taylor Made, leaving us no choice but to bring the present action in defense of our brands and our rights." The lawsuit seeks money damages and injunctive action to stop Taylor Made's unlawful activities. For more information about Titleist and FootJoy Worldwide please contact Joe Gomes, Senior Communications Manager (508.979.3211) or visit us online at www.titleist.com. Titleist and FootJoy Worldwide and Cobra Golf Incorporated comprise the Acushnet Company, an operating company operating company A business that engages in transactions with outsiders. of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange - FO). |
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