So did Guild ever send cease and desist letters to the Japanese manufacturers that we’re making copies?

[Rambozo96]

We all hear about Gibson and possibly Martin going after Ibanez/Takamine/etc but did Guild ever take legal action against Takamine? I know Ibanez made a few Guild copies but it seems like Takamine was making more of them.

 

[Guildedagain]

Guild was so seemingly unknown maybe they considered the myriads of copies to be ambassadors of the brand?

 

[Minnesota Flats]

We were?

 

[bobouz]

Only Gibson actually pursued a lawsuit, and only against Ibanez.

 

[chazmo]

I doubt it, Rambozo, but I also have no idea. It's certainly possible that other legal threats were made, but as Bob said, the only actual lawsuit that I'm aware of was Norlin (Gibson) vs. Hoshino (Ibanez):

On June 28th, 1977, Norlin, the parent company of Gibson, filed a lawsuit against Elger (Ibanez) in Philadelphia Federal District Court. The case was “Gibson Vs. Elger Co.,” with Gibson claiming trademark infringement based on the duplicate 'open book' headstock design of the Ibanez copies.

 

[DrumBob]

We're? It's were.

 

[Midnight Toker]

We're? It's were.

Autospell. Killing spellcheck, one word at a time.

 

[adorshki]

We're? It's were.

I figured if anybody'd know if they did, you would. Were they even on Guild's radar or were there things like cost (legal) vs benefit (potential recovered sales) issues?

 

[walrus]

Only Gibson actually pursued a lawsuit, and only against Ibanez.

Of course, they've gone after other manufacturers, particularly a pretty aggressive fight with PRS.

Here's an interesting article about some miscellaneous gear lawsuits:

The True Stories Behind 6 Famous Gear "Lawsuits"

We take a close look at the tales about Fender suing Gibson over the Firebird and Behringer's many (alleged) lawsuits.

reverb.com

walrus

 

[DrumBob]

I figured if anybody'd know if they did, you would. Were they even on Guild's radar or were there things like cost (legal) vs benefit (potential recovered sales) issues?

They didn't when I was there. Guild was usually under the radar, as was mentioned.

 

[adorshki]

Autospell. Killing spellcheck, one word at a time.

Thought we got AutoCorrupt a couple years back?

 

[Guildedagain]

Blatant copies are stronger than ever, used to be Jay Turser, now Harley Benton (a cross between a legendary cycle maker and a famous pinup of yore?) and they only serve to feed the GAS for the real thing, to wit so many posts like;

"I got a Harley Benton, had the neck straightened, frets leveled and trimmed, a proper nut installed, switched out the pickups and pots, and the hardware for Tone Pros, but now I have to have the real thing", usually a Les Paul.

So these copy guitars serve two purposes, to keep luthiers and the aftermarket parts industry in business, and as GAS for the guitars they're trying to copy, because you can't be a rock star sporting a Harley Benton, when it comes to headstock logos, "Only Gibson is good enough".

 

[adorshki]

Blatant copies are stronger than ever, used to be Jay Turser, now Harley Benton (a cross between a legendary cycle maker and a famous pinup of yore?) and they only serve to feed the GAS for the real thing, to wit so many posts like;

"I got a Harley Benton, had the neck straightened, frets leveled and trimmed, a proper nut installed, switched out the pickups and pots, and the hardware for Tone Pros, but now I have to have the real thing", usually a Les Paul.

So these copy guitars serve two purposes, to keep luthiers and the aftermarket parts industry in business, and as GAS for the guitars they're trying to copy, because you can't be a rock star sporting a Harley Benton, when it comes to headstock logos, "Only Gibson is good enough".

"Harley Benton: Available only through FB Marketplace."

 

[Prince of Darkness]

Let's not forget the "Chibsons" either! Some very nice looking Chinese fakes of Gibson and other brands, even Guild!