Prosecution Insights
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Application No. 18/454,649

MULTI-MATERIAL GOLF CLUB HEAD

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Aug 23, 2023
Priority
Apr 20, 2022 — CIP of 12/208,317 +1 more
Examiner
PIERCE, WILLIAM M
Art Unit
3711
Tech Center
3700 — Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Assignee
Acushnet Company
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
42%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
59%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 42% of resolved cases
42%
Career Allowance Rate
398 granted / 940 resolved
-27.7% vs TC avg
Strong +17% interview lift
Without
With
+16.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 9m
Avg Prosecution
16 currently pending
Career history
961
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
7.1%
-32.9% vs TC avg
§103
67.8%
+27.8% vs TC avg
§102
8.2%
-31.8% vs TC avg
§112
10.8%
-29.2% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 940 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claim(s) 1-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mizutani et al. 2018/0185710. As to claim 1, Mizutani shows a golf club head with a crown portion 4b located at an upper portion of the body 4, wherein the crown portion comprises an upper hosel region shown in fig. 5 that forms an opening at 40 and having an upper hosel region interior best shown by 22. Further shown is a sole portion 4c is shown located at a lower portion of the body, and an upper hosel component 8 to engage the upper hosel opening. The upper hosel component comprises: an upper hosel through hole Hs to receive a shaft; and a first upper hosel component region P1 to engage a portion of the upper hosel region interior such that it is adhered to the upper hosel region [0044, of spec.]. Where element 8 can be made of a metal or a plastic [0214} and the body of a and the body of R1 can be made if a metal, claims 2 and 3 are considered met wherein the upper hosel component is capable of being made out of a different material than the body and the upper hosel component is disclosed as metallic. Claim 4 is considered met in fig. 2 where P1 of the first upper hosel component region appears triangular in a top-down view from the page as shown. Clam 5 is considered met where the first upper hosel component region of 8 is considered to continuously cover a rear-ward part of the upper hosel region interior, a toe-ward part of the upper hosel region interior, and a heel-ward part of the upper hosel region interior as shown by the interior of R13 best shown in fig. 3. Element P1 is considered to show ribs expanding away from the upper through hole of the upper hosel component as called for in claim 6. As to claim 7, Mizutani shows a golf club head as set forth above with respect to claim 1, further having a sole portion with a lower hosel region at 22 a first hosel component adhered on at least a part of the upper hosel region exterior and a second hosel component 20 adhered [0068] within the lower hosel region. Claims 8 and 9 are considered fairly suggested as set forth above with respect to claims 2 and 3. Claim 10 is considered shown as set forth above with respect to claim 1 where further shown is a first hosel component top at 50 as best shown in fig. 10 to engage a portion of the upper hosel region exterior at 150 as best shown in fig. 14 and a second hosel component 20,110 to engage a portion of the upper hosel region interior, and wherein the second hosel component comprises a through hole best shown by 135 to receive a portion of the first hosel component. Claim 11 is considered fairly suggested as set forth above with respect to claims 2 and 3. As to claim 12, the first hosel component is considered to have a threaded section Ht insertable through the upper hosel region and a nut hosel component 110b to receive a threaded section of the first hosel component. As to claim 13, 116 is considered to be a washer hosel component between the second hosel component and the nut hosel component, wherein the washer hosel component comprises a through hole to receive a portion of the first hosel component via the nut hosel component. Claim 14 is considered met where the first hosel component 8 is considered to shows a first hosel component top and bottom at its top and bottom and the second hosel component 20, 120 is considered to have a second hosel component top and bottom at its top and bottom and wherein the second hosel component bottom engages the first hosel component bottom as shown in fig. 3 and wherein the second hosel component top is flush with the upper hosel region exterior 22 as shown in fig. 3. Claim 15 is considered shown as set forth above with respect to claim 1 and having a sole portion 24 located at a lower portion of the body such that it comprises a lower hosel region interior and a lower hosel opening as shown in fig. 3. The a first hosel component 8 to engage the upper hosel region and having a component top and bottom; and a second hosel component 20, 120 having a top and bottom wherein the second hosel component top is below part of the first hosel component as shown in fig. 3. Claim 17 is considered met for the reasons set forth above with respect to claim 12. Conclusion Claims 16 and 18-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim. However, the structural relationships of the second hosel component recited in claims 16 and 18-20 cannot be fairly interpreted as shown by the applied art above. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to William Pierce whose telephone number is (571)272-4414 and E-mail address is bill.pierce@USPTO.gov. For emergency assistance, supervisory assistance can be obtained with Nicholas Weiss at (571)270-1775. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, communication via email at the above address may be found more effective. Where current PTO internet usage policy does not permit an examiner to initiate communication via email, such are at the discretion of the applicant. However, without a written authorization by applicant in place, the USPTO will not respond via Internet e-mail to any Internet correspondence which contains information subject to the confidentiality requirement as set forth in 35 U.S.C. 122. A paper copy of such correspondence will be placed in the appropriate patent application. The following is a sample authorization form which may be used by applicant: “Recognizing that Internet communications are not secure, I hereby authorize the USPTO to communicate with me by responding to this inquiry by electronic mail. I understand that a copy of these communications will be made of record in the application file.” The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /WILLIAM M PIERCE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3711
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Aug 23, 2023
Application Filed
Apr 29, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12629568
GOLF CLUB HEAD WITH IMPROVED STRIKING FACE
2y 10m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12629564
GOLF CLUB HEAD OR OTHER BALL STRIKING DEVICE HAVING IMPACT-INFLUENCING BODY FEATURES
2y 5m to grant Granted May 19, 2026
Patent 12623122
MULTI-MATERIAL GOLF CLUB HEAD
3y 4m to grant Granted May 12, 2026
Patent 12616881
GOLF CLUB HEAD
9y 11m to grant Granted May 05, 2026
Patent 12599818
GOLF CLUB HEAD
4y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
42%
Grant Probability
59%
With Interview (+16.7%)
2y 9m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 940 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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