The undending litigations continue...Heritage sues Gibson over trademark threats

ajkula66 · March 15, 2020, 09:15:50 AM

And here we go again...

https://guitar.com/news/gibson-sued-by-heritage/

with Gibson's official response here:

https://guitar.com/news/gibson-issues-formal-response-to-heritage-lawsuit/

I was really hoping that the vulture capitalists running Gibson nowadays have backed off but was obviously wrong...

Basvarken · March 15, 2020, 10:07:11 AM

What a sorry bunch of losers.

Rob · March 15, 2020, 05:19:08 PM

Quote from: Basvarken on March 15, 2020, 10:07:11 AM
What a sorry bunch of losers.

Amen to that! Gibson has always tried to stifle competition via the courts. The inventors o the Multichord ( a steel guitar) won their suit in the 40's or 50's which endured them in Leo Fenders eyes.

Dave W · March 15, 2020, 08:45:10 PM

Gibson threatening legal action? Oh, what a surprise!

It's hard to know what's going on without seeing the agreement, but my guess is that Gibson is using the sale of Heritage by the original owners to Bandlab last year as an excuse to bully them out of the agreement. Under Bandlab, they have really expanded production and their dealer network which now includes Sweetwater.

BTW, last month Gibson sent a cease and desist letter to Kiesel (formerly Carvin) over Kiesel's Ultra V and California single cutaway, both of which are clearly different from a Flying V or Les Paul. The Ultra V was in production years before Gibson got their Flying V trademark anyway. Jeff Kiesel says he'll fight if Gibson sues.

I also read somewhere that Gibson's program to license a few small builders to copy Gibson designs has collapsed.

Pilgrim · March 15, 2020, 08:51:02 PM

The article from Gibson says that Gibson has not sued Heritage, which is something that's a yes/no question.

However, Gibson could allege that Heritage has broken the agreement, which (I guess) would not require a suit. So it seems they could apply pressure without adding a new lawsuit.

Dave W · March 16, 2020, 09:43:56 PM

Quote from: Pilgrim on March 15, 2020, 08:51:02 PM
The article from Gibson says that Gibson has not sued Heritage, which is something that's a yes/no question.

However, Gibson could allege that Heritage has broken the agreement, which (I guess) would not require a suit. So it seems they could apply pressure without adding a new lawsuit.

If a company alleges that an agreement has been broken, a suit would definitely be required if pressure doesn't work. What Bandlab has done here is preempt Gibson by filing its own suit before Gibson even sends a cease-and-desist demand. Bandlab has the money to sustain a fight.

Dave W · March 16, 2020, 09:50:58 PM

From Gibson's response:

"Recently, Heritage launched some new guitars that clearly did not respect, nor adhere to, the original contract. In fact, several customers had inquired if they were actually Gibson Guitars. Heritage Guitars also took the liberty of using language on their website that was misleading and misrepresenting, which added to the confusion.

This is bullshit. Heritage hasn't introduced any new models, they have actually reduced the number of models to 6. The headstocks and logo are the same as they have been since the company was started. There's no language on the website that's misleading. See for yourselves.

doombass · March 17, 2020, 05:47:14 AM

I'd say it's a case of Gibson reading through Heritage's website "like the devil reads the bible". How many morons have actually contacted Gibson confused over if Heritage guitars are authentic Gibsons? I guess none.

ajkula66 · March 17, 2020, 09:38:52 AM

Quote from: Dave W on March 16, 2020, 09:50:58 PM
There's no language on the website that's misleading. See for yourselves.

If I were a betting man, I'd say that it's the fact of Orville Gibson being mentioned on Heritage's website that got KKR's knickers in a twist...

doombass · March 17, 2020, 03:59:32 PM

Yes, and Gibson tries their best to deny history.

Dave W · March 17, 2020, 04:47:54 PM

Quote from: ajkula66 on March 17, 2020, 09:38:52 AM
If I were a betting man, I'd say that it's the fact of Orville Gibson being mentioned on Heritage's website that got KKR's knickers in a twist...

You may be right. Yet it's just a factual statement in a paragraph that makes it clear those guitars were built there until 1984, on a page that makes it clear that Heritage was started in 1985, on a website you'd never go to if you were looking for a Gibson.

Rob is right. Sorry bunch of losers.

gearHed289 · March 18, 2020, 12:22:13 PM

If anyone muddied the waters, it's Gibson themselves when they announced letting small builders make copies of their iconic designs.