ItsaBass
New member
Re: New EVH "Circles" guitar - double creme?
Those who have a problem with the DiMarzio TM must not understand what trademarks are, or about the history of the double cream situation. DiMarzio having the trademark they have is understandable when you are up to speed on both of those things.
DiMarzio has a trademark on double cream bobbins of that certain type of cream because back in the '70's, double creams were synonymous with DiMarzios; double cream pickups in a guitar read directly as "DiMarzios." They were THE aftermarket pickup company, and they were THE company doing double creams. It makes perfect sense for them to have patented it. It unofficially represented their company, and though DiMarzio led the aftermarket field back then (planted it, really), other pickup makers were moving in, so they made the visual representation official. Unlike Gibson, DiMarzio used double creams by design, and unlike Gibson, double creams represented the company visually. The [very few] Gibsons humbuckers that were double creams: 1) were not double cream by design (the bobbins were never designed to be seen at all, and zebras, reverse zebras, and double creams all came about by chance), 2) never visually represented the Gibson company, and 3) were originally closer to parchment than cream anyhow (again, Dimarzio's trademark only applies to certain shades of cream – the shade that they use by design).
Their trademark only protects them from direct competition. Double creams can come OEM in a guitar no problem, because guitars don't compete with aftermarket pickups. Or they can be special ordered, e.g. from the S.D. Custom Shop, because they are not in standard production, in open competition with DiMarzio in shops and online. Companies can also do double white or double parchment, double aged white, etc., because those pickups don't really look like DiMarzios.
Those who have a problem with the DiMarzio TM must not understand what trademarks are, or about the history of the double cream situation. DiMarzio having the trademark they have is understandable when you are up to speed on both of those things.
DiMarzio has a trademark on double cream bobbins of that certain type of cream because back in the '70's, double creams were synonymous with DiMarzios; double cream pickups in a guitar read directly as "DiMarzios." They were THE aftermarket pickup company, and they were THE company doing double creams. It makes perfect sense for them to have patented it. It unofficially represented their company, and though DiMarzio led the aftermarket field back then (planted it, really), other pickup makers were moving in, so they made the visual representation official. Unlike Gibson, DiMarzio used double creams by design, and unlike Gibson, double creams represented the company visually. The [very few] Gibsons humbuckers that were double creams: 1) were not double cream by design (the bobbins were never designed to be seen at all, and zebras, reverse zebras, and double creams all came about by chance), 2) never visually represented the Gibson company, and 3) were originally closer to parchment than cream anyhow (again, Dimarzio's trademark only applies to certain shades of cream – the shade that they use by design).
Their trademark only protects them from direct competition. Double creams can come OEM in a guitar no problem, because guitars don't compete with aftermarket pickups. Or they can be special ordered, e.g. from the S.D. Custom Shop, because they are not in standard production, in open competition with DiMarzio in shops and online. Companies can also do double white or double parchment, double aged white, etc., because those pickups don't really look like DiMarzios.
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