Golf Verdict Gets Tour 18 Off The Hook Lighthouse Can’t Stay, But Rest Of Holes Are Fine
Tour 18, the company that duplicates famous golf course holes for the not-so-famous weekend duffer, can keep the holes it copied from Pebble Beach and Pinehurst No. 2 courses, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
But Tour 18’s replica of Harbour Town’s famous red-andwhite lighthouse on hole No. 18 - has got to go.
“This duplication, in the court’s view, has weakened the lighthouse’s propensity to bring to golfer’s minds Harbour Town when they encounter the trade dress of the lighthouse,” wrote U.S. District Judge David Hittner.
The three golf courses sued Tour 18 in federal court last year, claiming their holes were so distinctive that they were protected as if by copyright.
Hittner’s complicated 118-page split ruling found for both sides in a heated debate over whether a famous golf course hole deserves legal protection.
In other words, can the features of a famous golf hole be copied by others?
Well, yes and no.
“While the evidence unquestionably shows Tour 18 deliberately copied plaintiffs’ golf holes and plaintiffs’ marks for use in its advertising and promotional brochures, the court finds that Tour 18’s actions did not rise to the level necessary for a finding of exceptionality,” Hittner wrote.
“Tour 18 did not use plaintiffs’ marks with the intent of stealing customers away from plaintiffs.”
Tour 18 is the brainchild of Texan Dennis Wilkerson, who thought amateur golfers might want to test their mettle against holes similar to the ones played by the pros.
For between $55 and $70, a golfer can go to Tour 18 courses north of Houston or in Dallas and play a replica of say, the “lighthouse hole” at Harbour Town (No. 18) in South Carolina, or the “Amen Corner” from Georgia’s Augusta National (Nos. 11, 12, 13).
But Pinehurst in North Carolina, Pebble Beach in California and Harbour Town challenged the replicas in federal court, saying Wilkerson’s substandard copies were unfairly profiting from the names of the courses. Hittner ordered Tour 18 to redesign the Harbour Town hole it copied because Tour 18 cannot use such a distinctive hole. No damages were awarded for either side.
“The court said no, not only are you wrong, but in respect to Harbour Town, that it was protectable,” said Steve Trattner, attorney for the golf courses. “So that’s a major victory.”
But in the cases of Pinehurst and Pebble Beach, Hittner found that the holes Tour 18 used were not as famous or distinctive. He ordered Tour 18 to halt any use of the famous course names in promotional brochures and advertising and restricted use of the course names to disclaimers and scorecards.
xxxx Tour 18 The holes duplicated by Tour 18, a golf course in Humble, just north of Houston. Three courses - Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and Harbour Town - sued Tour 18 over trademark infringement in federal court in Houston: 1. Harbour Town 18 (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) 2. Bay Hill 6 (Orlando, Fla.) 3. Pinehurst (N.C.) No. 2 4. Inverness 18 (Toledo, Ohio) 5. Augusta (Ga.) National 11 6. Augusta National 12 7. Augusta National 13 8. LaCosta 4 (Carlsbad, Calif.) 9. Sawgrass 17 (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) 10. Desert Inn 10 (Las Vegas) 11. Disney 6 (Orlando, Fla.) 12. Colonial 3 (Fort Worth, Texas) 13. Pebble Beach (Calif.) 14 14. Oakmont (Pa.) 3 15. Shinnecock Hills 8 (Long Island, N.Y.) 16. Merion 11 (Philadelphia) 17. Oak Tree 8 (Edmond, Okla.) 18. Doral 18 (Miami)