Are Some Golf Clubs ILLEGAL??

ARE SOME GOLF CLUBS ILLEGAL?

It’s true that illegal knockoffs and counterfeits
have been
a significant problem in the golf industry. The
name brand
manufacturers talk about illegal clubs ripping
them off, but
counterfeiters also rip off you, the consumer too.
No one
should buy products from an illegal counterfeiter.

An illegal knockoff and/or counterfeit is a
product that violates
the legal trade dress rights, trademarks, patents
or copyrights
of another company. Historical examples of trade
dress violators
were the makers of the "king snake" which was an
illegal knockoff
of Cobra’s King Cobra, the ‘Tommy Mann Bummer”,
the “Big Bruiser”
— you can easily tell that these products are
trying to copy the
trademark name of the Name Brand.

An illegal knockoff rips off the violated company
because it confuses
the consumer and in some cases seeks to fool the
consumer into thinking
their product is actually the name brand company’
s product. It rips you
off if you buy their products because you have
then violated the law and
are holding illegal goods.

It also rips off at legitimate makers of custom
golf clubs because they
play by the rules and lose business to shady
operators who fool consumers
into thinking they are buying a legitimate
product.

Yes, there is such a thing as a Clone of a brand
name golf club, and many
legitimate custom golf club makers produce them.
These clubs are not illegal
because they do not infringe on the patent or
trademarks of the Brand Name
clubs. A good analogy to use is the computer. For
many years IBM led the
market with the home PC. Then many other computer
makers got into the game,
with similar (but not IBM) components. Thus began
the IBM “Clone” PC industry
that created the likes of Dell and HP.

Any custom golf club maker worth his salt
acknowledges and respects the
intellectual property of every company in the
golf industry, and they make
every attempt to identify and avoid patent and
trademark infringement.
They are very careful to not violate the valid
rights of other companies
while at the same time we work hard to get into
your hands the best products
at the best price. Each club they make stands on
its own merits.
Clone golf clubs have clubs heads that are made
with many of the same high
quality stainless steel and titanium materials
used in name brand equipment
and can be fitted with your choice of steel or
graphite shafts. Since the
shafts and grips they use are usually top name
brands, there will be very
little difference (if any) in performance. The
difference lies mostly in the price.

And that difference can save you hundreds of
dollars.

So – counterfeit and illegal clubs that try to
trick you into thinking
that you’re buying a Name Brand club are no good
and you should avoid them
at all costs. But golf club clones – those that
are custom made to fit you
and the way you play golf can be very good for
you – both on the course and
in your wallet!

Ben Poston