Gibson threatening the mandolin and guitar luthier community

[Bertram Henze]

fast-forward to 5:05 where the police helicopter starts:

Mentioning Frodo really put it all in perspective.

And while we're at it:

[Simon DS]

I have mixed feelings about this.
On the one side I think humour (and I love it) is important to keep things from getting too serious, and on the other hand I think it’s important, certainly in a case like this, just to keep sort of straight with the facts. The legal arguments can be interesting, but then we’re talking also about the appropriation of history and culture. In the same thread.

[Hermann Winchester]

I would not mistake that Stradivarius guitar headstock for the Gibson "open book" design.

Circa 1840
Circa 1895

I can even go 100yrs earlier, into the mid 1700's and find the "open book" that Gibson copied

[Hermann Winchester]

This just in: "Gibson wants players to report counterfeit guitars" https://www.musicradar.com/news/gibs...erfeit-guitars

Have to admit, being on a mandolin forum my primary concern was whether Gibson was going to claim trademark ownership of the F-5 body shape and start going after mandolin builders who build it…but I followed the link in the above article to this list of Gibson trademarks: https://www.gibson.com/Registered-Trademarks and didn’t see it there, so that comes as a relief. (The F-5 headstock is there, though.)

My post #265 details how they tried but were unsuccessful at trademarking the F-body shape...

[John Lloyd]

So how long before Gibson goes after Epiphone?

[Bertram Henze]

So how long before Gibson goes after Epiphone?

Since international lawsuits require an agreement between the countries involved - we'll have to see diplomats shake hands first (and they'll have to wear leather jackets)...

[Wolfboy]

My post #265 details how they tried but were unsuccessful at trademarking the F-body shape...

So it does. Thanks! So it appears Gibson applied (unsuccessfully) for a trademark for the F-style body shape in 2014 (!)...after other makers had been using it for forty years or so if not longer, it had long become a standard shape for mandolins, and Gibson themselves had been using it for nearly a century. A bit late to the party with the trademark application, n'est-ce pas? Like their present actions, seems like it was more of a desperation move by a desperate company than anything...

[Wolfboy]

This one from Dovydas is over-dramatic *and* fun,

The nod to The Room ("oh, hi, Mark! Hahahahaha") was an especially nice touch.

[Jim Hilburn]

Roger Siminoff tried to alert them to the emerging market for F-5 mandolins in the late 70's. Had they started something along the line of the Opry Mills shop back then, then possibly Flatiron and others wouldn't have even gotten into it.

[Wolfboy]

Stradivari was born in the 1640's. I did not know he made guitars at all so I've learned something on this thread. Now I'm wondering if he made mandolins too? Can't find any info on that, but I did find that he made harps as well as fiddles and guitars. I wonder if any of his guitars are extant?

OT, but interesting: he made a few, and five still exist (I saw one years ago in the Shrine to Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota). Only one is still playable, apparently, and you can hear it here http://www.sabionari.com/Home.html and here https://forgottenguitar.com/2016/02/...in-1679-video/.

It appears Krishnasol Jiménez has recorded at least two CDs playing the Sabionari Stradivarius guitar - I might have to get them just for the coolness factor.

[DHopkins]

Since international lawsuits require an agreement between the countries involved - we'll have to see diplomats shake hands first (and they'll have to wear leather jackets)...

.....and rubber gloves.

[Bob A]

Roger Siminoff tried to alert them to the emerging market for F-5 mandolins in the late 70's. Had they started something along the line of the Opry Mills shop back then, then possibly Flatiron and others wouldn't have even gotten into it.

Therefore, players of the modern boutique instruments, and their makers, should thank Gibson for dropping the ball and allowing a generation of talented luthiers to perfect their skills. Also Gibson should thank these luthiers for both improving the breed, so to speak, as well as encouraging the company to reach new heights of excellence under Derrington, Harvey et al, as they rose to the challenge in the face of such stiff competition.

A tangled tale, to be sure. Conflict and challenge stimulates evolutionary change,

[luthier88]

I see a business opportunity: Headstock Condoms. Simply cover the headstock of your instrument with one of a number of nicely colored devices so as not to offend Gibson. I have, in these latter days, found that A Gibson is only Good Enough, but not really good enough.

I thought that Henry was bad, but he was just incompetent. Next: Martin goes for enforcement of the Dreadnaught shape and concept.

[Bad Monkey]

I play clawhammer and love it, but i love banjo jokes, they are just so funny. this was a good one, just in time too.
d

there are no banjo jokes, only cautionary tales.

[Wolfboy]

Next: Martin goes for enforcement of the Dreadnaught shape and concept.

The contrast between Martin's attitude towards their market (or Taylor's, or Yamaha's, or whoever's) and Gibson's is pretty striking, isn't it? I guess Martin isn't as scared of other makers doing what they do better and charging less for it.

[sgarrity]

I seem to recall a pretty famous acoustic musician saying "It's a Gibson, it'll have to do...." Kinda sums things up IMHO!

As an aside, the Harvey built mandolins I've played have all been fine instruments. I hate that Dave and his team are or will be caught up in this mess.

[Eric Platt]

The contrast between Martin's attitude towards their market (or Taylor's, or Yamaha's, or whoever's) and Gibson's is pretty striking, isn't it? I guess Martin isn't as scared of other makers doing what they do better and charging less for it.

Well, wasn't it about 20 or so years ago Taylor pulled some stuff that had the acoustic community up in arms at the time? That's one reason the original Taylor Guitar Forum changed to the Acoustic Guitar Forum. And why dealers could not advertise even used Taylor instruments.

[Wolfboy]

Well, wasn't it about 20 or so years ago Taylor pulled some stuff that had the acoustic community up in arms at the time? That's one reason the original Taylor Guitar Forum changed to the Acoustic Guitar Forum. And why dealers could not advertise even used Taylor instruments.

Yeah, good point, I’d forgotten about that. And it's true, they didn’t allow their dealers to advertise Taylors online for a while. Still, they’ve settled down about that (I think), and even at their worst I don't think they weren’t throwing threats around the way Gibson is doing.

[Jeff Hildreth]

And the reason Mandolin Bros. dumped Taylor.

[Bernie Daniel]

The contrast between Martin's attitude towards their market (or Taylor's, or Yamaha's, or whoever's) and Gibson's is pretty striking, isn't it? I guess Martin isn't as scared of other makers doing what they do better and charging less for it.

FYI. In the early 1980s, Martin Guitars issued a letter asserting that the Takamine F-340 and other models featured a logo design that was allegedly nearly identical to their own. A law suite was threatened but never enacted according to Martin.

[Jess L.]

The nod to The Room ("oh, hi, Mark! Hahahahaha") was an especially nice touch.

Ah, I see now, I'd wondered about that. (I hadn't heard of that film before.) Thanks!

[MikeEdgerton]

FYI. In the early 1980s, Martin Guitars issued a letter asserting that the Takamine F-340 and other models featured a logo design that was allegedly nearly identical to their own.

The only lawsuit ever filed was by Gibson and covered the open book headstock. There were no Martin or Fender lawsuits.

[Jess L.]

Maybe Gibson should trademark the word "The", while they're at it.

I mean, look, there's all these other non-authentic builders putting the word "The" on the headstocks. They have no right to use the word "The" in such a manner, because Gibson invented that. It's illegal!

Even if the "The" is in front of some other name instead of Gibson, it doesn't matter! They still got the idea from Gibson! It's stealing to even contemplate using the word "The" on the headstock like that!

Further, it will soon be prohibited to use anything that even remotely resembles a script font on the headstock. Gibson invented that too, the same year Gibson invented hide glue (don't believe the false stories about ancient luthiers inventing hide glue, that's just a vast conspiracy theory to try to justify the theft of more ideas from Gibson). No one else should be allowed to use a script font on the headstock, or anywhere else on the instrument for that matter (just on principle), without paying some sort of licensing fee to Gibson. Wanna use a script font to make your instrument look more Gibsonish? Then pay up and "play authentic".


------------
Oh come on now, settle down, it's just my amateur try at parody.

[MikeEdgerton]

I don't think Gibson wasn't the first one to use "The". I believe it was a common marketing practice to use it as a way of elevating the product.

[Jess L.]

I don't think Gibson wasn't the first one to use "The". I believe it was a common marketing practice to use it as a way of elevating the product.

Oh. Darn! I didn't know that. I guess I should have done a little research before typing out my little parody... I was just kinda thinking out loud... oops. Thanks Mike for the heads-up!