Ping Purchases Nike Equipment Patents

According to Matthew Kish of the Portland Business Journal, new patent records released on Tuesday show Karsten Manufacturing Company, the parent of golf equipment maker, Ping, has purchased five of Nike’s equipment patents.  The amount Ping paid for the patents is unknown.

A Ping spokesman said the company has purchased additional Nike golf equipment patents, but those sales are not yet reflected in patent records.

A post shared by PING Tour (@pingtour) on Apr 24, 2017 at 10:18am PDT

“We see this as an opportunity to add utility patents to our already significant intellectual property portfolio,” said Ping President John K. Solheim, in a statement.  “Our team can use these patents, along with our existing intellectual property, to our competitive advantage, accelerating our ability to further technology that ultimately leads to higher performing, score-lowering golf equipment.”

Naturally, this leaves many a Nike equipment fanboy (myself included) hoping that Ping will integrate Nike technology and design into their products.  Perhaps a Ping version of the Vapor Pros will be 2018’s M2 hysteria.

Or maybe, and much more likely, Ping is interested in getting back into the golf ball market. I  would keep an eye out for the new “POJOs” or “PZNs”.

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