It takes a special kind of stupid...

[Dave W]

Gibson issues threat to rival guitar builders: "You have been warned; we're here to protect our iconic legacy"...Guitar giant pulls Mark Agnesi video after outcry

The video can be seen on Reddit, at least for now:
https://www.reddit.com/link/c1p9kc/video/zhucj5uxvx431/player

Companies send cease-and-desist letters alleging trademark infringement...privately. How stupid and tone deaf to you have to be to publicly post a heavy-handed threatening video like this? What a way to squander all the good will Gibson's new ownership has enjoyed!

Gibson does have trademarks on many of its body shapes, he's right about that. But shortly past the 2 minute mark, he says that any copy of the shapes he's mentioned is in fact a counterfeit. That's absolutely false, A copy may be infringing, but it's not a counterfeit unless it claims to be a Gibson.

Boneheaded move.

[Chris P.]

What I tell know is based on rumours, so no truth:

I know Warwick had a lot of lawsuits with Gibson, about the Stryker (Explorer) and Wolf Hoffman (V). I think they won most, but I believe some were/are still going on so the Stryker was/is not available and the V in some countries only.
Last NAMM the new Gibson boss went up to see the Warwick boss and people told me he said something like: 'Our products are so different, so forget the lawsuits and just make those guitars.'

[FrankieTbird]

That's real weird.  He appears to be awkwardly uncomfortable in the video.  Hard to say though.

Has anyone ever seen an actual 1960 SG?  Thought they came out in '61?  And I didn't know that Ted McCarty designed the Flying V.

[gearHed289]

The video wasn't quite as bad as I expected, and I could definitely see a lot of people buying into it. But yeah, the guy seemed like he wasn't sure of himself. The message is "OK", the delivery, awkward.

[BTL]

I noticed recently that Gibson added a page on their website with their Registered Trademarks.

https://www.gibson.com/Registered-Trademarks

The process to invalidate a registered Trademark is neither cheap nor easy.

As a practical matter, I have made design choices to ensure that my body designs will never be confused for another brand's, including body materials, neck attachment, forearm facet, heel contour, belly cut, pickup and control routs, hardware, finish choices, etc.

Still, the smaller and lower volume the builder, the more likely it is that they will comply with a cease and desist letter, even if the Trademark is not defensible or the design is clearly not infringing.

Related: Gibson sues Armadillo over guitar trademarks

[Basvarken]

Those are clearly not his own words. He is reading it off the autocue as if he is held at gun point.
It's kinda sad that Gibson doesn't see that imitation is the best form of flattery.
Their slogan Only a Gibson is good enough kind of implies they need not worry about copies. So why this threat?

And, how many copies are there of the Precision bass and Jazz bass? A bazillion. I don't think it has hurt the success of the original Fenders one bit.

[Chris P.]

I heard the video is taken offline?

[Basvarken]

from r/guitars

[Dave W]

And another thing: your brand spokesman should look like one. Lose the Fonzie getup, Mark. That was outdated in real life by the time Happy Days first went on the air 45 years ago. What next? Will Gibson hire Suzi to be his Leather Tuscadero?

You normally never hear of cease-and-desist letters unless the recipient is stupid enough to make a public issue of it -- e.g., Kelton Swade, who dared Fender to sue him (they did, he lost). It's done quietly and stays that way if the issue is resolved. If it gets to the point of a lawsuit being filed, that's when you hear about it.

Proactively issuing a blanket threat to the general public is astonishingly stupid. Can you imagine, say, the corporate spokesman for Adidas or Nike making a video like this? Even an outspoken CEO wouldn't make a video like this.

[lowend1]

"Director of Brand Experience"
Boy, if that's not a new age f'ing job title, I don't know what is.

[BTL]

The Reddit link didn't open in Chrome for me, but it did open in Explorer/Edge.

[Highlander]

Innovative...?

Can anyone point to anything truly, successfully, innovative, in the last few decades...?

One of the oldest expressions is, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..."

Reddit site opened in Chrome for me with no issues... UK.

[doombass]

To mention the iconic brand status during a NAMM interview is one thing, but making a video solely about that and threats on trademark infringement on top of it comes out being simply pompous.

[BTL]

Ironically, Trademarks have nothing to do with innovation or quality:

The essential function of a trademark is to exclusively identify the commercial source or origin of products or services, so a trademark, properly called, indicates source or serves as a badge of origin. In other words, trademarks serve to identify a particular business as the source of goods or services. The use of a trademark in this way is known as trademark use. [...] Trademark rights generally arise out of the use of, or to maintain exclusive rights over, that sign in relation to certain products or services, assuming there are no other trademark objections.

Trademark rights accrue in the market over time, so it's never "too late" to assert protected status, and it's not uncommon for disused Trademarks to be reasserted as a brand is resurrected.

[westen44]

Whoever said there is no such thing as bad publicity (P.T. Barnum?) obviously never had the chance to see something like this.