Patents and product protection patents …

A patent is an important legal instrument for protecting intellectual property. A patent allows an inventor the sole right to exclude others from economically exploiting or benefitting from an innovation for a limited period (20 years from the date of filing for a utility patent).

When it comes to product innovation, no sport has more patent applications than golf. At one point it was second only to the medical industry.

“Since 1976, there have been more than 22,000 patents connected to golf, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website. Among major sports, golf’s closest competitor in the patent field is baseball with 1,508. In fact, golf has more than twice as many patents over the past four decades than all those for baseball, football, basketball, hockey, tennis, swimming, bowling, soccer, lacrosse and skiing combined.” (Golf is the No. 1 U.S. Sport… for Patents, by Adam Schupak, April 2018) https://www.thengfq.com/2018/04/golf-is-the-no-1-u-s-sport-for-patents/

In the mid 1990’s, after a move from Durban to the South Coast of Natal, South Africa, I got back into golf after a short layoff. I had some success on the seaside course at Umdoni but found problems with consistency and accuracy. After some valuable insights from playing partners, combined with knowledge gained from cricket coaching I created and developed a training aid that encouraged minimal head movement during the swing and helped me maintain focus on the ball until contact. This was the beginning of ACUSTRIKER.

With my brother’s help (he lives in New York) I applied for and was granted a US Patent in 1994. (US Patent Number 5375844) This recognised the fact that the concept, technology and design were unique and novel. Unfortunately, I was unable to exploit the opportunity as ”life” got in the way. (I and my family emigrated to Canada the following year and six years later emigrated to Australia where I now reside.)

Having settled now and playing a lot more golf, ACUSTRIKER has been taken out of the mothballs, redesigned and re-engineered to assist golfers of all ages and skill levels to improve and is available to all via www.acustriker.com. You can be assured that the concept, technology and product has been well researched and tested and is unique, novel and proven.

The patent has since expired and others have copied the concept and design and are marketing versions of my design. I am happy that golfers are benefiting from it.

I do also hope that those reading this, who wish to improve their game and lower their handicap will explore the website and order via the shop, email or phone. Feel free to contact me with any questions that are not answered by the website.

My mission at ACUSTRIKER is to help you play more consistently and try and reduce the average golf handicap from 17, where it has hovered for over 40 years.

If you're interested or you're having trouble sleeping, search the US Patent Office data base for Patent #5375844 and read the full patent document for ACUSTRIKER.