JOOLA Patent Dispute: Eight Brands Settled or Consented
The eight brands reported as settled or consented in JOOLA’s patent dispute by September 17, 2026—and why Diadem is excluded.
Paddletek, ProXR, Facolos, Proton, Volair, Engage, the Adidas pickleball licensees, and Friday Pickleball were the eight brands reported as having settled or consented to judgment in JOOLA’s Propulsion Core patent dispute by September 17, 2026. That wording matters: JOOLA explicitly identified Engage’s outcome as consent to judgment, not a negotiated settlement. JOOLA’s September 14 statement named the first seven; its September 17 announcement added Friday.
Diadem should not be counted as a settlement. Franklin Sports and RPM Pickleball were the two remaining brands without an announced resolution in the September 17 update to The Dink’s report.
The eight-brand list
The table records announced outcomes through September 17, 2026, not a claim that every related proceeding had formally ended by then. Terms shown are those described in the linked announcements and reporting.
| Paddle brand | Reported outcome | Public detail |
|---|---|---|
| Paddletek | Settlement announced May 13 | Royalties and JOOLA patent marking; affected products could be sold through and phased out through the fall. Announcement |
| ProXR | Settlement announced May 13 | Covered alongside Paddletek, with the same announced royalty, marking and phase-out provisions. Announcement |
| Proton | Settlement announced June 16 | Covered the Flamingo paddle; affected manufacturing would stop immediately, with inventory sales allowed through the summer. Announcement |
| Volair | Settlement reported before the September update | Covered the Shift paddle, with royalties, patent marking and a phase-out. Reporting |
| Facolos | Listed as settled or consented by September 14 | JOOLA’s aggregate announcement did not specify the individual outcome or terms. Statement |
| Adidas pickleball licensees | Listed as settled or consented by September 14 | JOOLA named All Racquet Sports / All For Padel, licensee of Adidas pickleball paddles. Statement |
| Engage | Consented to judgment by September 14 | JOOLA explicitly identified this as consent to judgment. Statement |
| Friday Pickleball / Friday Labs | Settlement announced September 17 | Royalties, immediate discontinuation of affected manufacturing, and inventory sales into the fall with patent marking. Announcement |
Why reports say seven, eight or nine
Those numbers count different things:
- Seven brands had settled or consented in JOOLA’s September 14 list.
- Eight had settled or consented after Friday’s September 17 agreement.
- Nine is JOOLA’s broader September 17 total, which also included a brand that failed to respond to the litigation.
That ninth brand was Diadem. JOOLA said it was seeking a default judgment against Diadem; The Dink reported in its September update that the judgment had not yet been entered. A request for default is not a negotiated settlement and should remain a separate category. Sources: JOOLA’s September 14 statement, its September 17 count, and The Dink’s status report.
Which JOOLA case does this refer to?
This list concerns JOOLA’s 2026 patent-enforcement action against competing paddle brands. The U.S. International Trade Commission confirms that Sport Squad, Inc., doing business as JOOLA, filed its complaint on April 7, 2026. The Commission instituted investigation 337-TA-1503, Certain Pickleball Paddles, on June 4. JOOLA sought exclusion and cease-and-desist orders over alleged patent infringement. USITC notice.
The 11-brand total is a brand count, not a count of legal respondents: the official notice names multiple companies associated with some brands. It names All Racquet Sports and All For Padel, not Adidas AG. Nor does settlement establish a final infringement ruling against everyone originally named. As of October 9, 2026, the USITC investigation page still listed the proceeding as pending before the administrative law judge.