Costco Sues Titleist Over Golf Balls

(RTTNews) - Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) has started a legal battle with Titleist, the manufacturer of golf's top-selling ball, over its golf ball under Kirkland Signature brand.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle, Costco asks for a declaratory judgment against Acushnet Holdings Corp. (GOLF), which owns Titleist, related to Costco's sale of the ball under its Kirkland Signature brand.

Costco is asking the judge to declare that its Kirkland Signature brand golf balls does not infringe any valid patent rights owned by Acushnet and it does not engage in any false advertising regarding the Kirkland Signature golf balls.

According to Costco, it filed the complaint because Acushnet has accused it of patent infringement and false advertising.

Acushnet has sent a threatening letter to Costco, accusing it of infringing 11 patents and engaging in false advertising in saying the Kirkland Signature "meets or exceeds the quality standards of leading national brands".