TrackMan Is Granted US Patent Protection On Measuring The Spin Of A Sports Ball

[GSF_Editor]

The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued U.S. Patent No. 8,845,442 B2 to Fredrik Tuxen, entitled "Determination of Spin Parameters Of A Sports Ball," which is assigned to TrackMan A/S (hereinafter "TrackMan's U.S. '442 Patent"). TrackMan's U.S. '442 Patent relates to TrackMan's innovative technology for determining the spin parameters of a rotating sports ball, such as a golf ball, in flight.

TrackMan's U.S. '442 Patent corresponds to and provides coverage which equals if not exceeds TrackMan's European patent, EP 1 698 380 B9, issued to Fredrik Tuxen and entitled "Determination of Spin Parameters Of A Sports Ball" (hereinafter "TrackMan's EP '380 Patent"), which is also assigned to TrackMan A/S.

Trackman's EP '380 Patent formed the basis for a legal ruling in favor of TrackMan A/S on May 7, 2013, in conjunction with a patent infringement lawsuit filed by TrackMan A/S at the District Court of Düsseldorf in Germany against MIA Sports Technology Ltd. (MIA), based on MIA's distribution and sale of FlightScope's golf tracking radar model "X2" (including its software version (5.8)). The ruling of the District Court of Düsseldorf has been appealed by MIA, and the decision in the appeal case is expected during the spring of 2015.

MIA has also initiated a nullification action against TrackMan's EP '380 Patent, but TrackMan remains confident that the patentability of its spin measurement technology will be confirmed.
"We are very pleased to have obtained US patent protection of our spin measurement technology", says Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen, CEO and co-founder of TrackMan A/S.

"While we consider the successful prosecution of this patent in the US to be of strategic importance in itself, it also reinforces our expectation that the Federal Court in Germany will confirm the patentability of this technology", Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen adds.

Besides Germany and the United States, TrackMan has been granted corresponding patents in the UK, France, China, South Korea and Japan.

A valid patent may generally be enforced against a party who manufactures, sells or makes commercial use of a product which infringes the patent in the relevant jurisdiction.

[JV17]

I know, that the public perception, is that the Trackman is the benchmark machine. That in itself, goes a long way in trying to market ones clubfitting business to the public.

Fhann,

Apologies for the tardy response... The flu got me.
So the fact that you're looking at this from a business perspective changes everything. Your evaluation process should be much more detailed and exhaustive than someone looking for personal use like myself. It was ridiculously easy to dismis TM as a choice based on price alone. You cannot afford the same luxury. You have clearly already surpassed my own research, so that's good. From a business perspective, any difference in accuracy is too negligible to matter, so let's move away from that. Great point about Breed and Hall using FS, but don't think for a minute that it's not marketing driven as well. That doesn't devalue the point though. Marketing is of course a huge factor for you, to you very last point. Selling your business with TM will be easier than with FS. TM provides better legitimacy factor due to public perception. Not only a result of TM's marketing, but public and professional reputation as well.

I couldn't agree more that TMs outdoor functionality is grossly overpriced. Probably helps pay for better R&D and of course, better marketing. That better marketing is a favorable attribute for you, though not really for me. Being a business decision you'll need to go beyond simple research. I don't think you have a choice but to call TM and have them come out and do a demo, if you haven't already. You also need to keep in touch with FS and have them continue to sell you on why you should stick with them and inform you about what new features and functions are on the horizon. You have to allocate the time to vendor management, and they should be considered as such. The other thing you have to do is talk, write and visit peers that are using each... Go see multiple setups in person and get firsthand feedback. This is probably all stuff you already thought of, but I throw out to you just in case. Being in the business of business, I know the importance of these things to maximize growth. Good luck with what should be a continual evaluation.

[fhann]

Here is an interesting URL outlining Flightscope's approval of their US patent announced in October 2014 regarding Flightscope's process of measuring the spin of a sports ball.

http://flightscope.com/flightscope-patents-new-sports-ball-direct-spin-measuring-method/

If Flightscope implements this process, I wonder if the Trackman law suit has much of an impact.

[JV17]

Here is an interesting URL outlining Flightscope's approval of their US patent announced in October 2014 regarding Flightscope's process of measuring the spin of a sports ball.

http://flightscope.com/flightscope-patents-new-sports-ball-direct-spin-measuring-method/

If Flightscope implements this process, I wonder if the Trackman law suit has much of an impact.

Seems like they'll have to implement that process. Good to see they have something else in the works.