Gibson v Dean trial to start

[ICTGoober]

All I can say is, get a life Gibson.

From your lips to God's ears.

I guess the idea here is probably not to gain sales, but to force competitors to lose sales

You could say Gibson is trying to punish them, or dominate the market - but I prefer to think of it more cut throat, like a pro card player would think.
Their credo is "If you can't count, cut" - meaning if you can't make points, stop the other guy from making points.
Which would be dumb reason to sue, because the instrument market is not a game.

 

[nexion218]

From your lips to God's ears.




You could say Gibson is trying to punish them, or dominate the market - but I prefer to think of it more cut throat, like a pro card player would think.
Their credo is "If you can't count, cut" - meaning if you can't make points, stop the other guy from making points.
Which would be dumb reason to sue, because the instrument market is not a game.

Agreed. I think even Gibson agrees it's a not a game. Rather a big enough business that at least has a chance of making worth their while, so anything goes. They're not making (enough) "points", so Plan B swings into action. But what do I know? I'm just speculating here without knowing much about big time business. But based on my limited knowledge this would be the only way their actions made sense.

 

[ICTGoober]

Do we have any forum members near Sherman, Texas who could attend the trial and give us a report now and then? It's a small city of 40,000 not far from Oklahoma.

 

[Aceman]

 

[Mincer]

This whole thing is quite senseless...even if Gibson wins every trademark or copyright infringement case they win NOTHING. Players these days will buy the instruments they like at the price they want to pay regardless of the body or headstock shape (Ibabez, Kramer, Fender, etc. are in business BECAUSE they don't look like Gibson at Gibson prices). Yes, there will always be some who will buy the name, and that is what keeps Gibson in the marketplace, but it's NOT because they can't buy that headstock or body shape elsewhere.

All I can say is, get a life Gibson.

On the other hand, if they don't go after these types of claims, their value goes down. It will be interesting to see how these cases progress.

 

[Aceman]

On the other hand, if they don't go after these types of claims, their value goes down. It will be interesting to see how these cases progress.

Yeah - but they can just raise prices.

 

[Mincer]

Yeah - but they can just raise prices.

Every time they raise prices, another company swoops in and offers instruments at their previous price points. It isn't enough to be top dog, you have to fight to keep that position.

 

[alex1fly]

What's interesting to me is the threshold of copycat design. Like okay so say Gibson wins and Dean has to modify a headstock shape but by how much?

 

[NegativeEase]

Gibson isn't going to win, just punish Dean with crippling legal bills and set precedent for future guitar companies treading in their space.

 

[Aceman]

Every time they raise prices, another company swoops in and offers instruments at their previous price points. It isn't enough to be top dog, you have to fight to keep that position.

Well, you just keep raising prices until you start calling yourself "Exclusive"

I agree - its a horrible business model for a mass manufacturer. Or as I have written - the "Icon" business model.

 

[ICTGoober]

Gibson isn't going to win, just punish Dean with crippling legal bills and set precedent for future guitar companies treading in their space.

Exactly what Modulus Graphite did in the 80's and 90's with their patent on carbon fiber necks. They sent me a cease and desist letter packed with threats just because I mentioned I'd like to make CF necks for my shop back in the 80's. My meager plans wouldn't have touched them in the lightest, but Jeff Gould took no chances. I still have a copy of their patent application in a file cabinet, and it's exceedingly broad and vague.

 

[nexion218]

I looked up the vid where he does the actual review... Ouch! If that cracked neck joint and botched paintjob is more common than 1 in a million, Gibson should really reconsider their operations and/or pricing

 

[piblock]

Now that everyone has figured out how easy and cheap it is to order Chibsons from AliExpress and similar sites, it seems like the massive amount of fakes around would be more damaging to the company, both financially and in reputation. Addressing that would probably be a better use of their time and money.

I had Epiphone Strat and Tele copies back in the 90s. I wonder what their stance is in those. I still have what started off life as an Epi Tele, but I took a chopsaw to it because I wanted to make it look more like a spaceship.

 

[ICTGoober]

Now that everyone has figured out how easy and cheap it is to order Chibsons from AliExpress

It is ABSOLUTELY illegal to purchase, sell, or own any counterfeit instruments. PERIOD. US Customs, state and local law enforcement agencies take a dim view of them. When found, they destroy them.

 

[Securb]

I love it when people talking about ordering one of those counterfeits “just to see if it’s any good” and then claim that they aren’t doing anything to encourage the counterfeiting.

Anyone thinking about buying a Chibson Les Paul should just buy an IVY

 

[piblock]

It is ABSOLUTELY illegal to purchase, sell, or own any counterfeit instruments. PERIOD. US Customs, state and local law enforcement agencies take a dim view of them. When found, they destroy them.

Yes, but they don't seem to be making a dent. If Gibson wants to protect their brand, allocate resources to identify Chibson sales (like the polaris4music group on Facebook, I can't believe how brazen they are) and pass that info on to the appropriate authorities.

 

[Mincer]

Yes, but they don't seem to be making a dent. If Gibson wants to protect their brand, allocate resources to identify Chibson sales (like the polaris4music group on Facebook, I can't believe how brazen they are) and pass that info on to the appropriate authorities.

I bet they are aware of all the copies out there, but going after a company based in China that doesn't recognize US or even international laws might be even too expensive for Gibson.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

^Xi Jinping will boycott all exports of materials that go into Gibson guitars, as well as export of tubes...as if Russian tube shortage not painful enough. You don't want to mess with the Chinese...lol.

 

[Securb]

I bet they are aware of all the copies out there, but going after a company based in China that doesn't recognize US or even international laws might be even too expensive for Gibson.

Some of those bootleg guitar manufacturers are starting to set up shop in the Pacific Northwest and California. I have not seen them advertising Chibsons but I am sure they are fulfilling some of the overseas orders.

 

[ICTGoober]

I bet they are aware of all the copies out there, but going after a company based in China that doesn't recognize US or even international laws might be even too expensive for Gibson.

Gary Kahler spent his fortune chasing down all the Asian makers who copied (poorly) his designs during the late 80s and into the 90's. He sued them in their courts and eventually won. His company nearly folded, but he endured and has been enjoying success for the last 10 years.