The list of holdouts keeps shrinking. JOOLA has reached a settlement with Friday, resolving every claim brought against the brand in the patent infringement action JOOLA filed with the US International Trade Commission back in April. That makes Friday the ninth of the eleven brands originally named to either settle, consent to relief, or simply fail to respond altogether — leaving just two names still standing against a campaign that’s rapidly running out of opponents.
The dispute, as with every settlement before it, centres on JOOLA’s Propulsion Core technology, a design protected by a portfolio of utility and design patents that the company has spent years developing. Under the terms agreed with Friday, the brand will pay royalties to JOOLA, halt all manufacturing of the affected paddles immediately, and shift production over to replacement lines instead. Existing stock isn’t being pulled from shelves outright, mind—Friday can continue selling through its current inventory across the autumn, provided every unit carries JOOLA’s Propulsion Core patent numbers clearly marked on the product.
Richard Lee, JOOLA’s CEO, framed the resolution as another confirmation of the ground the company has been defending since the litigation began. “Propulsion Core is the technology that changed what a pickleball paddle can do—and we are pleased to have reached a resolution with Friday,” he said. “But our work isn’t finished—we will continue to defend our innovation with the remaining two defendants to protect the technology we built that defines the modern game.”
Friday’s own response leaned notably conciliatory rather than combative. Chief executive Matt Czarnecki didn’t dispute the substance of JOOLA’s claim, instead framing the settlement as consistent with values the company says it’s held from the outset. “We agree that patent rights are important to innovation, and we acknowledge JOOLA’s intellectual property,” Czarnecki said. “Ever since we started Friday, we’ve chased innovation and respected patents. JOOLA has made great contributions to the sport and the pickleball paddle market. There is so much more innovation left to do.”
That’s nine settlements now banked from the original eleven brands JOOLA named when it filed its ITC action on April 7. Whatever happens with the final two holdouts, JOOLA has made clear this resolution changes nothing about its broader approach—the company says it remains fully committed to protecting its entire intellectual property portfolio, holdouts included, for as long as the fight takes.
