NEWS

Paul Hastings Secures Favorable Settlement for Bridgestone Sports Co. in Patent Dispute

October 08, 2007

Paul Hastings Secures Favorable Settlement for Bridgestone Sports Co. in Patent Dispute

Washington, D.C., (Oct. 8, 2007) – Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, an international law firm, secured a favorable settlement for Bridgestone Sports Co., Ltd. of Japan and Bridgestone Golf, Inc. of Georgia, a leading manufacturer of golf balls, in a major patent dispute with the Acushnet Company, the maker of Titleist and Pinnacle golf balls.

Under the terms of the agreement, Acushnet will pay Bridgestone a license fee that includes an on-going royalty for a license under certain Bridgestone patents. The parties have also agreed to a non-royalty bearing cross-license of other patents held by each company. The dispute involved patent infringement claims against Acushnet’s Pro V1 and other golf balls. The settlement was reached after more than two years of litigation during which the Paul Hastings team obtained many favorable rulings for Bridgestone on crucial discovery and evidentiary issues.

The Paul Hastings trial team was led by partner Robert M. Masters and included partners Scott Flicker, Yoshi Takatori and Maxwell Fox, and associates Terry Wikberg, Tim Cremen, Brandon White, John Shin, Erin Sears, John Girgenti and Arata Nomoto.

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, founded in 1951, is a leading international law firm with over 1,200 attorneys in 18 offices. The firm serves a diverse client base including many of the leading global financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies and offers deep capabilities in capital markets, finance and restructuring, intellectual property, international arbitration and dispute resolution, investment management, labor and employment, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, product liability, project finance, real estate, securities litigation and tax advisory services. For additional information, please visit our website at www.paulhastings.com.