JOOLA’s patent enforcement campaign is picking up momentum—and the settlements are starting to stack up.
Proton Sports has reached an agreement with JOOLA to resolve all claims from the patent infringement suit filed in April, becoming the third brand to settle since JOOLA launched its sweeping action against 11 paddle manufacturers over its proprietary Propulsion Core technology. Paddletek and ProXR Pickleball both settled in May—Paddletek resolving claims over its Reserve and HoneyFoam lines, ProXR settling over the Signature Jolt—and now Proton has followed in June, with the dispute centring specifically on its Flamingo Series 3 paddle.
The terms follow a broadly consistent pattern. Proton will pay royalties to JOOLA, halt all new manufacturing of the affected paddle immediately, and sell through its remaining inventory over the summer. All remaining stock must carry JOOLA’s propulsion core patent numbers on the packaging and display a “Powered by JOOLA” sticker—a visible, commercial acknowledgement of the intellectual property at the heart of the dispute.
JOOLA chief executive officer Richard Lee was unambiguous about what the Propulsion Core represents and what the company intends to do with it.
“JOOLA’s Propulsion Core technology is the foundation of the modern pickleball paddle, and we are pleased to have reached a resolution with Proton,” Lee said. “We will continue to pursue fair outcomes with the remaining defendants as we protect the technology we built that defines the modern game.”
Proton founder and CEO Charles Darling struck a conciliatory tone.
“We respect JOOLA’s intellectual property and its impact on the pickleball paddle market, as well as JOOLA’s role as a leader in technical innovation,” Darling said. “We are glad to resolve this matter constructively.”
Three down. Eight to go.
The litigation remains active through the International Trade Commission and federal district courts against the brands that have not yet settled: Franklin Sports, Engage Pickleball, Diadem Sports, Volair, Friday Labs, Adidas Pickleball, RPM Pickleball, and Facolos. The original April filing named all 11 brands simultaneously, and JOOLA has made clear it intends to see the remaining cases through.
For the pickleball industry, the pattern of settlements—three brands in two months, all on broadly similar terms—signals that JOOLA’s legal position is strong and that the path of least resistance for the remaining defendants may be to follow Paddletek, ProXR, and Proton to the negotiating table. Whether they do so, and on what timeline, will define the next chapter of what is shaping up as one of the most consequential intellectual property disputes in the sport’s short professional history.
