Why Can't We Be Friends? Guitar Lawsuits; Current, and Past

Why Can't We Be Friends - War

Why can’t we be friends?

Well, Trademark infringement seems to be the prevailing reason among guitar manufacturers. 

Recently a Youtube video by Gibson Guitars surfaced, then was quickly taken down.

Mark Agnessi from Gibson Guitars

In it, the tag line was “Play Authentic”, and it featured Gibson spokesman, Mark Agnessi urging players to play a real Gibson brand instrument.

Ironic 1980's Epiphone by Gibson 

He suggested that the new Gibson management would be coming after other companies that used guitar shapes that Gibson deemed to be their property. He also issued a message to film and media companies that taped over Gibson logos on the companies guitars that were used as props in films, television shows, and on social media, asking them to stop taping over the Gibson logo.

Can You Spot The Difference?

The video also brought to the forefront that Gibson had filed suit against Dean Guitars’ owner Armadillo Enterprises through a court in Texas, and was asking for a jury trial. Dean has subsequently sent a letter to its dealers citing the case as baseless and without merit.

1916 Martin Ditson 1960 Gibson J-45

This resulted in a great number of social media platforms responding by releasing pictures of older non-Gibson brands, including guitars, and mandolins that have the same open book headstock shape, and it has been noted that the Gibson J-45 guitars shape, which was introduced in 1942, is exactly the same as a Martin Dreadnoughts guitars body shape, which was introduced in 1916.

The original lawsuit era came about because in 1970 Ibanez guitars were making what they referred to as “replica” or “tribute” guitars that were pretty good resemblances of Gibson, Fender, and Rickenbacker instruments.

Medley Music - Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania

A music store owner, named Harry Rosenbloom quite innocently was trying to make a living selling guitars, and other musical instruments at his store, Medley Music, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Mr. Rosenbloom tried his best to procure a Martin Guitar franchise.

The Martin factory was only 70 miles away. Each request was turned down. So in 1964 he hired two luthiers, that were German immigrants, and started building his own guitars, under the Elger brand. Elger was a combination of his children’s names. I am told they were great guitars; essentially handmade, and affordable.

By 1965 he determined this venture was way too costly, and he began importing guitars from the Hoshino Gakki Gen factory in Japan that were branded Elger. Hoshino Gakki had already acquired the brand name Ibanez Salvador, which was eventually shortened to just Ibanez,

Ibanez Replica "Lawsuit" Guitars

In 1971 the Hoshino Gakki company bought out Mr. Rosenbloom’s brand name, Elger, as well as his store (it may have been a sublease) and used the facility for quality control, and shipping of their brands in the United States. Although those Ibanez guitars were pretty good copies, not everything was spot on. But their guitars were far less expensive than an American made instruments.

June 9, 1977 Letter to Gibson Dealers

On June 28th, 1977 Gibson parent company, Norlin filed a lawsuit againg Elger (Ibanez) in Philadelphia Federal District Court. Prior to this, Norlin had sent cease and desist letters to Elger/Ibanez, but did not receive a response. Norlin claimed trademark infringement based on the headstock design in its letters, and in the suit.


Ibanez finally made an out-of-court settlement with Gibson/Norlin and agreed to stop copying the Gibson headstock and using names similar to Gibson models on their instruments.

Headstock design

Interestingly enough, this settlement agreement only applied to Gibson’s unique headstock design. Ibanez and other offshore companies continued to produce guitars with bodies similar to those that Gibson and other American companies had been building for years.

1950 Fender Broadcaster

In an earlier, and perhaps more sensible, and more importantly, the far less litigious days of 1950, Leo Fender and his California company had designed what was perhaps the world’s first electric Spanish-style guitar, which they named The Broadcaster.

1950 Gretsch Broadkaster Drum Kit

The Gretsch Company located in Brooklyn, New York was selling a drum kit that they called The Broadkaster. They had already been granted a trademark for that name.  Gretsch politely asked Fender to quit using the Broadcaster name, and Fender agreed.

1951 Fender
Nocaster

Subsequent guitars of the same design did not have any name on them and were known as “Nocasters”, until late 1951 when Fender named the guitar, The Telecaster.

1958 Jazzmaster

In 1958 Fender offered a brand new guitar they called the Fender Jazzmaster. This was a unique instrument that featured several impressive innovations including an offset waist design that was meant to let the instrument fit better on the players lap.

1963 Gibson Firebird V

Five years later, in 1963 Gibson guitars hired Ray Dietrich, a well known automobile designer, to create a new guitar for the company using similar features to those he incorporated in his auto bodies.

1963 Firebird vs 1958 Jazzmaster

His design became known as The Firebird. This unique guitar had a six-on-a-side headstock, and an offset waist. And though it was a totally different guitar than the Jazzmaster, it is no stretch of the imagination that the Firebird's shape resembled a Jazzmaster that was flipped over.



Though no legal documents exist, it is rumored that Fender threatened to sue Gibson over the Firebird design.  Gibson went ahead and halted production, and possibly happily redesigned the guitar.

Gibson may have seen this as a good excuse to make manufacturing changes to the Firebird. There were several factors that made the original Firebird very difficult to build.

1963 Firebird V

The Firebird line had a neck-thru body design, with added wings. Plus the original Gibson Firebird humbucking pickups were smaller versions of standard Gibson humbucking pickups, but were unique in that inside each of their smaller bobbins was contained an AlNiCo bar magnet, and those pickups were built without any specific bobbin fasteners.  The bobbins were held onto the frame during the wax potting process. Then a solid metal cover that was soldered to the frame base. There were no screw poles on the original Firebird pickups.

The tuners were atypical. Since the six-on-a-side headstock was reversed, banjo style tuners with planetery gears were used instead of the usual, and less expensive Kluson guitar tuners.

1965 Firebird III & 1963 Jazzmaster

All of these features were expensive to produce. so in 1965 Gibson discontinued the original design. On the new version, Gibson reversed the bodies design, opted for a more practical glued in neck, and used P-90 pickups. Ironically the new design looked more like a Jazzmaster than the original. But Fender did not raise any further objections.

1985 PRS

Around 1985 guitar builder Paul Reed Smith launched his company with some very unique, and well made instruments. Most of the companies guitars featured double cutaway bodies.

But in 2000 Paul Reed Smith aka PRS offered the Ted McCarty single cutaway model. Ironically, the retired Ted McCarty was once Gibson Guitar's President. Gibson, now lead by Henry Juszkiewicz was upset that this model resembled their Les Paul design, so in 2004 Gibson filed suit in a Federal court and an injunction was issued against Paul Reed Smith.

Les Paul - PRS Ted McCarty SC

In 2005 the suit went to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals which overturned the injunction on the grounds that by the time Gibson filed for a single cutaway trademark in 1987, the design was alreay ubiquitous, and therefore generic.

Court documents stated that, “only and idiot” would mistake a PRS Single Cut for a Les Paul guitar.

2010 Paper Jamz toy guitars

In 2010, a toy company called WOWWEE USA came up with a toy guitar that they called Paper Jamz. This toy was made of study plastic, only around a quarter of an inch thick, and guaranteed to make the child playing it an instant rock star.

It had a small electronic unit built into the body to produce the sounds on the touch sensitive neck. The company also made amplifiers, synthesizers, and drum kits. But Paper Jamz guitar bodies were images of Gibson’s SG, Les Paul, Flying Vee, and Explorer designs.

Me Rockin' out on a Paper Jamz Guitar

The same year Paper Jamz were introduced, Gibson Guitars was granted a request for an injunction against WOWWEE USA, and its retailers, which included a number of large American retailers.

In January of 2011 the case was dismissed with prejudice (permanently) by a Federal judge.

WOWWEE paid Gibson an undisclosed sum to license the design of Gibson guitars. WOWWEE ceased production in 2011.

John Hall - CEO Rickenbacker

Years ago I used to visit a now defunct web site called Liszts which had a chat room called Alt-Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker’s owner, John Hall, was quite a prominent poster on the site.

He seemed happy to answer all questions about his companies guitars. However he was quick to suggest that he would sue any American company, store, or website selling offshore manufactured copies of Rickenbacker instruments.

But there are still foreign companies making “replicas” of Rickenbackers guitar, as well as those of other US companies, and even offer them in kit forms.

Chinese made Rickenbacker replica

I can attest that the fake Rickenbackers are far inferior to the real deal. Some of the fakes have bolt-on necks, and none have Rickenbacker's neck-thru bodies, or pickups.  Save your money.

Rickenbacker guitars, Gibson guitars, and high end Fender guitars can be very expensive, but if you buy one, you'll have a worthwhile musical instrument that you can treasure.

Chinese Trumpet and
Bach Stradivarius Trumpet
 - you might not see the difference,
but you can hear the difference

It is my opinion is that guitars, and other musical instruments such as brass instruments, violins, woodwinds, and drums have been made with the same inherent shapes for years, even centuries. Few changes, if any have occurred.


There are manufacturers that have added their own input to these designs, especially with electric guitars.

2019 Epiphone Les Paul
2019 Gibson Les Paul
- $2000 price difference

Additionally most U.S. companies, including Gibson, have relented to companies from Asia that were building copy guitars, by putting their own footprint into these foreign markets and offering their own versions of traditional American guitars that are built in Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, and other Asian Pacific countries. Fender and Gibson have built affordable versions of their products under the Squier, and Epiphone guitar brand. The USA made version are undoubtedly superior, but for many people these instruments are a viable alternate.

Mark Agnessi from Gibson might have a point about Gibson guitars being of superior quality, and perhaps the new Gibson versions are  even better than those made during the last decade. But in my opinion his rallying against other manufacturers using traditional Gibson shapes amounts to merely idle threats.

$69 Music-Yo
Kramer Strat copy

Someone might want to remind Mr. Agnessi of a Gibson Guitar Company online subsidiary called Music-Yo that existed at the start of this decade which sold inferior copies of Kramer and Steinberger guitars. Those Kramer guitars that Gibson sold looked exactly like Fender instruments, but they were made of plywood. The pickups and wiring on these instruments were far inferior, and the nut and fret markers were made of PVC. But Gibson did make money selling thousands of these Fender knock-offs.

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©UniqueGuitar Publications

July 7th, 2019 - Since writing this article Gibson has issued a new statement in response to the back lash stating they are moving from "confrontation to collaboration".  It is explained in this video.

1960's Kent Guitars

Badges?

Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!

I beg pardon, but back in the 1960's, the companies that were importing Asian manufactured guitars into the United States believed differently.

They were afraid no one would buy a guitar with the brand name of Matsumoku, or Hoshino Gakki, or Fujigen Gakki on the peghead.

So these import companies came up with their own American, or English sounding brand names, such as Holiday, Decca, Kingston, Lyle, Kent, and so many more.

In my high school days, when I started playing guitar, most guys or girls families couldn't afford a Fender or Gibson guitar for their young Beatle-want-to-be.

You may not know it, but the Gibson ES-335 was given that designation, because in 1958 when it was created, the guitars price was $335.00.  The average U.S. salary in 1958 was $3700.00. So the cost of most new, domestically produced guitars were beyond the reach of the average worker.

1965 Average Teen Garage Band 

So most of my friends played Kent or Silvertone guitars. At that time I figured those brands came from the Silvertone or Kent factory. Some Silvertone guitars were made in Chicago, by the Kay or Harmony companies, but there was never a Kent factory in the United States, or anywhere in the world for that matter.

Buegeleisen and Jacobson catalog

There was a musical instrument distribution company from New York City named Buegeleisen and Jacobson, that began importing Japanese manufactured electric, and acoustic guitars to the U.S in 1962.  And those instruments were usually built by two different Japanese companies; Teisco, or Guyatone.

Mid-1960's Teisco made Kent
 I saw a lot of this model back in the day

The rule of thumb is that the lower end solid body models were usually built by Teisco, while the more expensive semi-hollow, or hollow body electrics were manufactured by Guyatone.

1965 Guyatone made Kent

However determining the factory of origin is quite confusing, since some of the less expensive Kent models were the same instrument under the Guyatone badge.

Kent Badge

Early Kent branded instruments generally had a glued on badge with a metal "K", which sometimes covered up another brand name. Some of the Guyatone models of the same era had a metal "G" badge. However we can agree that the better models had the Kent logo inlaid in the headstock.

An incredible guitar boon occurred after the Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in early 1963.

That show was unusual, since the first guitar boon occurred in 1956 after Elvis appeared on the Sullivan Show in 1956.

The distribution and import firm of Buegeleisen and Jacobson was there to fill the demand for cheap electric guitars. This company got their start in business back in 1897 as a wholesale distributor of guitars, and brass instruments for music stores.

This company first turned to Teisco in 1962, and that relationship continued until 1967. That same year they contracted with another Japanese firm, called Guyatone, and began importing guitars and began importing and distributing from both manufacturers.

There are no exacting records, but Buegeleisen and Jacobson  may have used other Asian musical instrument manufacturing companies. We know in later years they used a Korean company, best known for building pianos, called Kawai.

Mid 1960's Japanese Guitars

From 1962 to 1967 the U.S. market was flooded with cheap foreign guitars, since nearly every adolescent was eager to be a rock star. Once these guitars arrived in the United States, the Kent brand name, or another brand, was added to the guitars headstock.

1967 Teisco Del Rey Advertisement

The Japanese manufacturer Teisco, which is said to be an acronym for Tokyo Musical Instrument and Sound Company, also imported guitars and basses under a variety of brand names other than Kent.


These brands or badges included Silvertone, Lyle, Encore, Beltone, Winston, Kimberly, Audition, Decco, and more.  But we are going to concentrate on Kent Guitars.

1960 Teisco

Teisco had already began importing guitars to the United States as early as 1960 under their own brand name,  In 1964 the U.S. brand name was changed to Teisco Del Rey.  The Teisco company was sold in 1967, at that time the brand name ended. This explains why Buegeleisen and Jacobsen ended the contract.

Like many Asian manufacturers, Teisco, Guyatone, and others found a key niche in distributing instruments in bulk to American importers.

1965 Kent Copa
model 532

The first Kent guitars I remember seeing were listed as the 500 series, which came with the glued on "K" on the instruments headstock, and the 600 series, which had the Kent name in metallic letters glued on the headstock.  These were the  models that showed up as early as 1962 and were usually sold by department stores, through catalogs, and pawn shops. Music stores of the day had franchise agreements with the major guitar companies. If they offered a Kent guitar, it was usually because it was taken in as a trade.

Kent PB24-G

Hagstrom first Kent branded guitars got their start in the U.K. when Hagstrom of Sweden manufactured some budget instruments to be sold through a French company called Selmer. Since these instruments had vinyl bodies, the owners of Hagstrom feared that any damage due to poor manufacturing would besmirch their reputation, so those guitars were stamped with the Kent logo. In 1963 Buegeleisen and Jacobson began importing this model of Kent guitar to the United States and distributing it.

1964 Kent 650

From a prior article, you may recall that Jerome Herschman's company had been importing Hagstrom guitars under the Goya brand, and later under the Hagstrom name. Though they are the same guitars and basses, if it says Kent, it was brought here by Buegeleisen and Jacobson, if it says Hagstrom it was imported by Herschman.

These budget Hagstrom-made Kent instruments began being imported to the U.S. around 1963.

1967 Kent model 740

Besides the Series 500 and 600, there were the Series 700 and 800 models. Kent also distributed some hollow body guitars with single and double cutaways.

1967 Kent 820
 in back 834 Violin shape
and743 Bass

Some of the 800 series models resembled Gibson ES-335's or ES-175's.  At times the necks were topped with six-on-a-side headstocks. The 700 and 800 guitars had a round foil sticker with the model number and sometimes serial number pressed into it.

Kent Violin
Shaped Instruments

Kent also imported some violin shaped models, that were manufactured by Kawai of South Korea.

1963 Kent Standard on top
Professional on bottom

There are two lines of Kent guitars: a Standard series and a Professional series which were made by either Teisco and Guyatone.

1965 Kent Guitars

Kent also offered the Polaris series of early solid body guitars that did not have adjustable truss rods in the neck.

1965 Kent Americana Series

The Kent 510 Las Vegas is almost identical to the Guyatone of the same period. There were several similar, but noticeable different, body shapes in the 500 series Kent guitars.

They all have the same size metallic logos on the headstock.

Late 1960's Kent 800 series

The 700 and 800-series Kents were not made by Guyatone. They may have been made by Kawai/Teisco, however and expert on Japanese guitars of this era believes the Kent 700 series instruments were made by a small factory called Hayashi Mokko.  Most 700 and 800 models, except for bass and 12-string gutars, were equipped with a vibrato bar.

Some model 820s were equipped with a genuine Bigsby vibrato.

Teisco Gold Foil pickups

A unique feature of some Teisco-made Kents are the Gold Foil pickups.

Ry Cooder's guitar
with Teisco neck pickup

Guitarist Ry Cooder equipped his Stratocaster and some other of his guitars with these Teisco Gold Foil pickups, as he prefers their sound. With the rise in collectors seeking vintage Japanese guitars, value has been placed on these pickups.  Some vintage Teisco instruments have been trashed just for the pickups.

Southland Music Distributors

By the early 1970's, Buegeleisen and Jacobson went out of business and another distributor, Southland Musical Merchandise Corporation, acquired the Kent brand name.


This company shifted distribution from manufacturers in Japan to those in Korea, as the production cost was less.

1970's Kent guitar

The font for the logo changed when Southland took control, and emphasis was placed on lower prices with a higher profit margin at the expense of quality.

1970's Kent SG Knock-off

Most of these Korean made guitars were knock-offs of Gibson Les Pauls,  ES-335's and Fender Stratocasters, and copies of well known bass guitars. To this day, Southland remains a major music wholesaler, but now specializes mostly in music accessories.

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