As of February 2, 2024, Costco is now involved in their second legal dispute involving major golf companies. Back in 2017, Acushnet, the owner of Titleist, sued Costco for patent infringement and false advertising concerning Kirkland’s Signature golf balls. However, the parties resolved all claims out of court the following year. Despite this, Costco finds itself entangled in further litigation, as TaylorMade has filed a lawsuit over Costco’s new line of iron golf clubs under the Kirkland Signature brand. TaylorMade is suing for infringements of patent’s and false advertising by misleading people in terms of making their purchasing decisions. Kirkland’s new iron clubs, known for their “hollow construction and multiple materials,” caught the golf world’s attention with their $499.99 price point, similar to their golf balls in 2017. In contrast, TaylorMade’s P790 irons are priced at $1,799.99, marking a significant difference in price points between the two.
Costco’s Kirkland Signature irons product description advertise their irons as a ‘Multi-Material Construction’ – adding that the “Kirkland Signature Players Distance Irons are built for distance and forgiveness with a stainless-steel body, injected urethane insert, and an internal tungsten weight for optimal launch, forgiveness, and playability”. TaylorMade argues that “the statement by Defendants that the accused products contain an ‘injected urethane insert‘ is literally false, or in the alternative, is misleading and, on information and belief, has actually deceived or has a tendency to deceive consumers in a way that influences purchasing decisions“. The crux of TaylorMade’s argument to their court statement assert that the design of Kirkland’s product directly mimics the patented features of the P790’s, adding that “the accused products incorporate, without permission or license from TaylorMade, the inventions claimed in the asserted patents. TaylorMade respectfully seeks relief from this Court for Defendants”.
The irony of this lies in the fact that PXG sued TaylorMade for the same issue in 2017 upon the release of their P790’s, which ultimately led to TaylorMade and PXG settling their patent dispute regarding golf club production technology the following year as well. Currently, Costco continues to retail the Kirkland Signature irons which have been selling out rapidly. Though the resolution of this copyright infringement dispute remains uncertain, leaving it to either a settlement as in the past or leaving it to judicial intervention to bring a resolution.
Communications Law