JOOLA settles patent dispute with Proton, third brand to resolve claims

JOOLA has settled with Proton Sports, making the brand the third paddle maker to resolve claims from its patent campaign over Propulsion Core technology. The deal centers on the Proton Flamingo paddle, the only product listed in JOOLA’s complaint against Proton, and it allows Proton to keep selling the affected paddles through the summer while adding JOOLA’s propulsion core patent numbers and a “Powered by JOOLA” sticker to packaging, paying royalties and stopping manufacturing immediately.

The settlement gives fresh momentum to a case JOOLA opened on April 7, 2026, when it filed patent infringement litigation at the U.S. International Trade Commission against 11 paddle brands. JOOLA said then that it had spent years investing in research, development and testing behind Propulsion Core technology, and argued that its designs had helped shape pickleball’s global expansion while protecting players from counterfeits and copycats. By June 16, JOOLA said it had already reached deals with Proton, Paddletek and ProXR, leaving eight defendants still in the ITC action.

That matters because the legal fight is running on two tracks. A separate industry analysis says JOOLA is pressing its campaign through both the ITC and parallel federal district court cases, a setup that can block imports while also seeking damages and injunctions. The same analysis identified U.S. Patent Nos. 12,465,826 and 12,357,891 as central to the dispute, which turns on foam-filled perimeter structures, specialized core configurations and energy-return features often associated with thermoformed or Gen 3 paddles.

The background also helps explain why the Proton settlement carries weight beyond one brand. JOOLA’s equipment battle has already intersected with a separate, long-running dispute with USA Pickleball over Gen 3 decertification, and Pickleball.com noted that JOOLA responded to that decertification with a June 12, 2024 lawsuit. Taken together, the cases show that paddle design, certification and patent control are no longer separate issues. They are now bound together in the same fight over who gets to sell, certify and profit from the fastest-moving part of the sport.

For Asia, where pickleball demand is still building and imported gear remains a major part of the market, the pattern is hard to miss. A brand that wants to stay on shelves may now need to license, relabel or redesign instead of relying on a quick release cycle. If the settlement wave continues, retailers could see fewer copycat products, tighter design rules and higher prices on premium paddles as royalties and compliance costs move into the final sticker price. Proton’s deal shows JOOLA has leverage, and the next brands in its crosshairs may have to decide whether to adapt or absorb the same terms.