3 ms·

One reason to be so nonchalant would be that the guy did in fact copy someone's patents wholesale, and was just waiting for the day someone would notice. If you

One reason to be so nonchalant would be that the guy did in fact copy someone's patents wholesale, and was just waiting for the day someone would notice. If you know the lawsuit is unwinnable and not frivolous, no point complaining about it.

sk5t 10y ago
A plausible response in the software field, perhaps, but golf balls? Surely it's some effort to design a ball (or several), set up manufacturing, logistics, distribution, sales channels, marketing... I can't speak for the buy-side of driving ranges and miniature golf, but most regular golfers have at least some brand loyalty--a Slazenger, Maxfli, and Callaway are not perfect substitutes.
annnnd 10y ago
According to article this is not the case here: > “We weren’t infringing. But we couldn’t afford to fight the case,” he says. Instead, his company settled the 2015 claims with Acushnet by agreeing to get out of the golf-ball business altogether; it received no payment from Acushnet, nor did it pay.
- Freak_NL 10y ago
  That small business' response here is hard to fathom. Either the reporting is bad, or they quietly settled for a nice sum off the record (to prevent other businesses from getting ideas).
  - YCode 10y ago
    It also seems plausible that they simply couldn't afford to pay the requisite legal fees and any associated penalties (e.g. not being able to sell, get new contracts, etc.) to fend off the law suit.
  - nulagrithom 10y ago
    The article makes it sound so light-hearted: > “We laughed when we got the lawsuit. We knew we made it.” So, what? They were just like "lol we're getting sued"? I have a hard time believing they were perfectly OK with the situation...
    - quadrangle 10y ago
      As someone working on a non-profit startup, I regularly half-joke that our long-term expectations are to make just enough impact that the vested interests who prefer the status quo will take notice enough and do whatever to make us disappear. If you start out with this awareness, you might not be okay being right about it, but maybe not totally outraged at the inevitable injustice…
  - LeifCarrotson 10y ago
    > The sorry consolation is that the threats are a sure sign of success, he says: “We laughed when we got the lawsuit. We knew we made it.” Yeah, really not understanding this thinking. The preceding sentence claims that they received no payment from Acushnet/Titleist, but I can't understand this attitude otherwise. Maybe they'd laugh if they were playing a round of golf, but this is a real life business, not a game. The linked 2015 Golf Digest article [1] uses very different language and responses, calling the decision to shut down "painful" and "very tough". Further, they say: > "Each company denies Acushnet's allegations and intends to vigorously defend itself in the case." I'll grant that there is some time which elapsed between these articles and the incidents surrounding them, but I find it hard to imagine that their attitudes could have changed so drastically. [1]: http://www.golfdigest.com/story/five-golf-ball-companies-named http://www.golfdigest.com/story/five-golf-ball-companies-nam...
  - bobbington 10y ago
    The CEO may have already made a couple million and was happy to retire with handsome profits.
- mcguire 10y ago
  Honestly, watch what people do, not what they say.

sk5t 10y ago

A plausible response in the software field, perhaps, but golf balls? Surely it's some effort to design a ball (or several), set up manufacturing, logistics, distribution, sales channels, marketing... I can't speak for the buy-side of driving ranges and miniature golf, but most regular golfers have at least some brand loyalty--a Slazenger, Maxfli, and Callaway are not perfect substitutes.

annnnd 10y ago

According to article this is not the case here: > “We weren’t infringing. But we couldn’t afford to fight the case,” he says. Instead, his company settled the 2015 claims with Acushnet by agreeing to get out of the golf-ball business altogether; it received no payment from Acushnet, nor did it pay.

Freak_NL 10y ago
That small business' response here is hard to fathom. Either the reporting is bad, or they quietly settled for a nice sum off the record (to prevent other businesses from getting ideas).
- YCode 10y ago
  It also seems plausible that they simply couldn't afford to pay the requisite legal fees and any associated penalties (e.g. not being able to sell, get new contracts, etc.) to fend off the law suit.
- nulagrithom 10y ago
  The article makes it sound so light-hearted: > “We laughed when we got the lawsuit. We knew we made it.” So, what? They were just like "lol we're getting sued"? I have a hard time believing they were perfectly OK with the situation...
  - quadrangle 10y ago
    As someone working on a non-profit startup, I regularly half-joke that our long-term expectations are to make just enough impact that the vested interests who prefer the status quo will take notice enough and do whatever to make us disappear. If you start out with this awareness, you might not be okay being right about it, but maybe not totally outraged at the inevitable injustice…
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago
  > The sorry consolation is that the threats are a sure sign of success, he says: “We laughed when we got the lawsuit. We knew we made it.” Yeah, really not understanding this thinking. The preceding sentence claims that they received no payment from Acushnet/Titleist, but I can't understand this attitude otherwise. Maybe they'd laugh if they were playing a round of golf, but this is a real life business, not a game. The linked 2015 Golf Digest article [1] uses very different language and responses, calling the decision to shut down "painful" and "very tough". Further, they say: > "Each company denies Acushnet's allegations and intends to vigorously defend itself in the case." I'll grant that there is some time which elapsed between these articles and the incidents surrounding them, but I find it hard to imagine that their attitudes could have changed so drastically. [1]: http://www.golfdigest.com/story/five-golf-ball-companies-named http://www.golfdigest.com/story/five-golf-ball-companies-nam...
- bobbington 10y ago
  The CEO may have already made a couple million and was happy to retire with handsome profits.
mcguire 10y ago
Honestly, watch what people do, not what they say.