Matteo Blues Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Found this jumping around on the internet!! It's an article from forbes magazine, thought I'd share Fender Bender ! Rock and roll is the hamburger that ate the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billster Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Uh oh. Didn't we just dissect the Gibson/PRS mess? I like the quote where the guy says its like trying to trademark cars with four wheels. All this reminds me of something a few years ago, when Vanna White sued Samsung Electronics over an ad that showed a TV "today" with a picture of a blond game show hostess, and the same TV "in 2025" with a picture of a blond robot game show hostess. Vanna claimed that Samsung was "appropriating her image" by showing a blond game show hostess intended to resemble her, when she was not an endorser of their product. As the judge said to Vanna: "something is very wrong here." Buy my CD on CD Baby! Bill Hartzell - the website MySpace?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger85 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 After all these years, I agree that these shapes have become quite generic. Strats, Teles, LPs, ES-335s, SGs, Jacksons; they are all copied. Fender and Gibson should just worry about their brand names, nothing more. ...touched down in the land of the Delta Blues.....in the middle of the pouring rain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matteo Blues Posted August 6, 2004 Author Share Posted August 6, 2004 That's what I was wondering.........How do let something like that go for so long and then one day wake up and decide it's time to go after everyone and anyone that has a body shape like ours...........Guess it's called GREED!! Rock and roll is the hamburger that ate the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger85 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Greed? Perhaps. FEAR? Could be! Around here too many young people are listening to GUITARLESS music! Drum machines seem to rule over guitars with some of these young uns. On the other hand, I do see an interest among younger teens( like my son's friends) in blues and classic rock, even the Beatles. ...touched down in the land of the Delta Blues.....in the middle of the pouring rain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werewolf by Night Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Well, Fender and Gibson really aren't the "same" companies they originally were, anyways. Different owners, different production facilities, different employees... concerning litigation and proprietary designs and trademarks, it's a big-business paperwork game. I do think it's fine for Fender, Gibson, and others to protect their interests, but I can't help but want the spirit of the law to be just as valid as the letter'; for example, I think it's ridiculous for Gibson to be suing PRS over their "Singlecut"-models... Interesting to note: As posted on the Forbes.com website: "Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Fender...has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for federal trademark registrations for the guitar and bass body shapes used on Fender's Stratocaster, Telecaster and P Bass guitars and basses... Fellow industry titan Gibson Guitar has indicated it may oppose Fender's application." Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timrocker Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Actually, Fender's always been concerned about the many small companies making strat and tele styled bodies and necks. Also of course P and J basses. When I worked for Fender in '91 they were looking very hard at Warmoth with an eye to a lawsuit or a cease and desist order. I think that what came out of that was that Warmoth and Fender came to an agreement to allow Warmoth to build Fender-licensed necks. Licensing keeps them in business and apportions some of the profits to Fender for originating the concept. A nice compromise. What is different about this is that it made the financial news. In a high profile way. It's not Fender going on a big bender about copy cat guitar builders-Fender's always been active at protecting their own designs. It's just that now you're seeing it in print in this context with legal imiplications up the ying. In my humble opinion, Fender needs to do two things to really make that work. One, guard the perimeter with legal action like the ones detailed in the article. Two, (and this is the one that matters) improve their quality and consistency by a factor of ten. Reject a shitload more in order to ship a far better and more consistent product. It will take both actions to add up to an achievement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fogman Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 the joke is that the artcile states the "Gibson" plans to oppose the action. Hello???? Didn't Gibson just do this??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverse the Curse Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 this is horrible. These smaller knockoff companys are essential. They keep prices low and quality high by creating competition. Still, even with knockoff strats everywhere, where do you go for a top of the line strat? Fender. The article said, they control about 30 percent of the market. Why is that not enough? The forumite formerly known as Cooper. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John Lennon "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will finally know peace." Jimi Hendrix "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." Jimi Hendrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger85 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 blackstrat, the allthingsstrat.com site is just too cool! Thanks so much for turning us on to it. I didn't realize the MIM guitars sported necks made in USA! Fascinating MEX factory tour, btw. This site is actually of interest to all guitar players who like to read about guitars, in my opinion. Check it out guys! blackstrat has the link. Tiger "redstrat" 85 ...touched down in the land of the Delta Blues.....in the middle of the pouring rain.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Geezer Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Reallly...EXCELLENT SITE Chuck "Blackstrat" Nice job Lynn G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 When I saw the PRS singlecut / Gibson lawsuit, I figured it was only a matter of time until Fender got involved somehow. You have to go back to the late 1940's / early 1950's. A Telecaster is a single cutaway solidbody guitar, and an argument could probably be presented that Gibson is infringing on Fender's design (even though Les Paul, Leo Fender and Paul Bigsby were all working on similar designs and all were apparently aware of each other's work...). What a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billster Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 I think the Black Sabbath guys should file suit against any of a few dozen newer bands that have ripped them off for years. And the Hendrix Estate group probably could make a laundry list of infringements. SUE 'EM ALL, WE'LL SORT IT OUT LATER! Buy my CD on CD Baby! Bill Hartzell - the website MySpace?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miroslav Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Well...to me, a guitar has certain elements that define it as a...guitar... but not any particular brand of guitar. The guitar body...with it's curves...has been around long before Gibson and Fender existed. The fact that the body has been cut/manipulated to certain degrees to accommodate playing...has also been going on long before Gibson and Fender came along. Of course...if someone is going to copy a Gibson LP or Fender Strat...to-the-millimeter in its dimensions.....that is a no-no. But...just because a guitar is a single cut-away...or double cutaway... ...that's taking things too far. That's like trying to hold a patent on a 4-wheeled car!!! miroslav - miroslavmusic.com "Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 Originally posted by fogman: the joke is that the artcile states the "Gibson" plans to oppose the action. Hello???? Didn't Gibson just do this???That's what I was just thinking. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fogman Posted August 6, 2004 Share Posted August 6, 2004 is Gibson worried to get caught in their own game. Do they not have a strat styled guitat? It would look good on them to start this trend then get sued by their competition!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Red 67 Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Peoples of zee wurld relax! Somebody needs to disolve all these big guys to give the little guys a chance! Has anyone ever looked at wishbass.com he does guitars too. Best price on a custom I have ever seen. Big Red's Ride Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Any patent attorneys on this board? Can Fender really wait 50 years before they register a shape with the US Patent office? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Björn Fröberg Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 I think this is really silly, actually. Fender sells a lot of guitars, even if there's many knock-offs on the market. When somebody wants a really good strat, they buy a Fender. When someone wants a cheap strat, they buy a knock-off. But people who buy the knock-offs usually buy more expensive guitars later on, (if they keep on playing) and they often buy a Fender. If they are afraid that someone's building better fender-styled guitars than they build, and therefore steals some of the market, then the only thing that helps is building better guitars. It can be done. Myself, I wouldn't mind a Ruokangas strat styled guitar because it is better than a Fender. If Fender would make it, I'd want one. For me it doesn't matter who makes the guitars as long as they're good. If Fender can't keep up, well, what do you do? Sue someone? - Bob Freebird A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webe123 Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 If Fender can't keep up, well, what do you do? Sue someone?[/QB]Seems to work for Gibson! (HE! HE!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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