Short news...1/26/04

ISG has heard from a good authority that the patent infringement suit launched vs Frisby Technologies by Outlast has been settled. The court held that Frisby, now in Chapter 11, has not infringed on Outlast's patents. For some reason, the bankruptcy trustee has not released the information to the public.

Puma has infuriated the lord of soccer, FIFA, again. President Sepp Blatter wants to ban a new uniform for the Cameroon national team designed by Puma. It is a one-piece uniform with zippers on the shoulders. Two years ago, Puma designed a sleeveless jersey for the top team. FIFA banned that one too. Blatter recently got into trouble by suggesting that women soccer players should wear sexier uniforms.

Converse wants to make it clear that Steve Dodge, who was caught up in the cooking of the books at Just For Feet, is not a current employee of the company: "In the past three years," the company said, "Converse assets and brand entities have been in the possession of three ownership groups including: CVEO Corp., which filed for bankruptcy on January 22, 2001, Converse Inc. owned by private equity investors, and currently, Converse Inc., which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Nike Inc. when acquired on September 4, 2003. The current ownership entity?currently holds all marketplace rights and trademarks to the Converse legacy. Steve Dodge is a former employee of CVEO Corp. Mr. Dodge is not now, nor has ever been affiliated with Converse Inc. while it has been owned by the private equity investors or Nike, Inc."

A federal court jury awarded Quiksilver all unpaid royalties, as well as its requested nominal damages, in an action against GMT, Inc., a watch licensee terminated by the apparel manufacturer. The jury also denied all of GMT's counterclaims vs Quiksilver. Among the trial issues, the jury found that Quiksilver had the right to terminate GMT and that GMT had breached the licensing agreement between the companies.

Callaway Golf set company records in 2003 in the successful global pursuit of counterfeiters, knockoff artists and other violators of its patents, copyrights and trademarks. Using the civil courts and a wide variety of local, national and international law enforcement agencies, Callaway conducted enforcement actions in 11 countries resulting in the seizure or forfeiture of more than 37,000 counterfeit or infringing golf clubs, components, shirts, bags and other items. In all, the company recovered more than $1 million in cash from businesses that had sold golf clubs or components that infringed Callaway's intellectual property. In an enforcement breakthrough, Callaway also supported law enforcement in obtaining a criminal conviction of a US-based seller of counterfeits on eBay after an investigation that led authorities back to a supplier in China.