Gibson v Dean trial to start

[Mincer]

I am thinking Gibson can be more aggressive than Kahler, and survive the international lawsuit without going out of business. Y'all may be right, though...the goal here might not be to win over Dean, but to cost them a lot of money. I don't think Dean is in a great position as a company, either.

 

[ICTGoober]

Bankruptcy might slow them down a little... Still - we can theorize all we want and accomplish nothing. In the meantime I hope for the best outcome in Dean's favor and await the verdict, however long that might take.

 

[beaubrummels]

I think Gibson's strategy might backfire and cause a panic buying run on Deans in the near term. They would be better off finding ways to mark authentic Gibsons that isn't easily replicatable; like an embedded hologram serial number and/or encrypted microchip.

 

[Securb]

or encrypted microchip.

There is an RFID chip under the fretboard.

 

[Top-L]

I want to re think my "emotional" position on this.

I think most people want the little guy to win. Big, bad Gibson is picking on a smaller brand. Gut reaction is to side with Dean.

But... I also want to underscore the importance of the ability to protect trademarks and intellectual property. Court cases like this are important. IP theft represents a large% of China's intellectual capital. It could be argued that their ability to copy western ingenuity is a major factor in geopolitical instability. They wouldn't even be sitting at the adult's table if they were unable to benefit from IP theft.

I cringe whenever I see someone buying a Chinese guitar dsp pedal which we all know incorporates algorithms stolen from western companies.

 

[NegativeEase]

If super ******* Dean Zelinsky was still a part of Dean Guitars -I'd definitely be rooting for GIbson. :lmao:

 

[Cdwillis]

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.

Gibson has been including a picture of the guitar on the workbench and a birthdate along with the case candy with their new guitars for a couple years now as a way to mark that it's a real Gibson. I think another intention is to give it some kind of prestige or pride of ownership for the recipient, which is just sort of funny to me.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

like an embedded hologram

Like the one on my 2015 SG? There's a factory in China making those to order

 

[Securb]

Gibson has been including a picture of the guitar on the workbench and a birthdate along with the case candy with their new guitars for a couple years now as a way to mark that it's a real Gibson. I think another intention is to give it some kind of prestige or pride of ownership for the recipient, which is just sort of funny to me.

Yeah I got the picture with my case candy. I keep it in my wallet next to the picture of the kids.

 

[NegativeEase]

Yeah I got the picture with my case candy. I keep it in my wallet next to the picture of the kids.

Nice, I have 2 Gibson's in my studio right now that are built since 2018 and are just incredible instruments -one is 2018 and pne is 2021

I guess people aren't ready to accept that companies can improve...

It was there customer service back 15 years ago that made me quit messing with them, and guess what -I bet they've improved that too.

 

[Cdwillis]

I've got a 2021 Les Paul Tribute and it was impeccable. The only thing I didn't care for was the 490r/490t pickups, but I knew that going in because I hated those in my SG too. I think they did start turning things around a bit when HJ got replaced, but any goodwill they had from me is a bit tarnished already.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Tokai has been making exact copy of LP, Strat and Tele for years and Gibson and Fender have done nothing about it.

 

[ICTGoober]

Exact copies? That say Gibson and Fender? Thought not.

 

[beaubrummels]

Like the one on my 2015 SG? There's a factory in China making those to order

Is it the serial number and is it under the finish? Whatever the solution is, it needs to be embedded in a way that you'd have to destroy the guitar to get at it.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

The serial number is stamped into the headstock, but the hologram of Les Paul himself is under the clearcoat.

I wouldn't put it psst those wiley Chinese to figure out how to stick a hologram under the clear too.

 

[Obsessive Compulsive]

@booger: No they don't say Fender and Gibson on the headstock but the shape is exactly the same...doh. isn't that the case with Ibanez in the seventies?

 

[beaubrummels]

The serial number is stamped into the headstock, but the hologram of Les Paul himself is under the clearcoat.

I wouldn't put it psst those wiley Chinese to figure out how to stick a hologram under the clear too.

Yeah probably. Though it might look sloppy. Need to have something very high resolution, like the mint uses. Which I why I said 'like...' I think an encrypted microchip embedded in the wood or something along those lines would be better. Something where the chip tech and the readers are only owned by Gibson - e.g. you'd have to have the Gibson factory authenticate your guitar. I don't know what all technologies could be used, but something where deep in the instrument is an identifier and it would require destroying the instrument to get at it to try and copy it.

 

[NegativeEase]

Yeah probably. Though it might look sloppy. Need to have something very high resolution, like the mint uses. Which I why I said 'like...' I think an encrypted microchip embedded in the wood or something along those lines would be better. Something where the chip tech and the readers are only owned by Gibson - e.g. you'd have to have the Gibson factory authenticate your guitar. I don't know what all technologies could be used, but something where deep in the instrument is an identifier and it would require destroying the instrument to get at it to try and copy it.

Agree. Passive 150khz RFID tag with an encryped mfg code.

In fact, they should glue it between veneers. Somewhere no luthier service is ever perfomed like under the top.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Anybody interested in a couple of Mona Lisa knockoffs for the smallest room in the house?

How about a nice bridge for the back yard?

Anything can be faked, copied, cloned, etc. if the financial rewards are there.

Must go now, the Ben Franklins on the washing line are almost dry and it's about to rain

 

[beaubrummels]

But also, anything faked can easily be exposed as a fake.