How important is Namm to a new dealer?

[BigHouse Guitar]

How important is Namm?Should I pursue it yet?
Newly formed BigHouse Guitars announces Danny Rader now using a BigHouse on the Gretchen Wilson U.S. tour.
Danny is a Nashville session recording guitarist. He started using a BigHouse on Friday June 26th at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort in Mt. Pleasant Mi.
http://www.myspace.com/bobbylespaul

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[Loni Specter]

A Tele with a Strat body. I can get behind that.
Thing is, if you do go to NAMM and exhibit that head stock shape, you could be in for some trouble and wind up in the BIG HOUSE for real. (couldn't resist)Fender won't be at summer NAMM, so maybe you'll get lucky, for a while.
I'd stay under the radar if I were you bro.:warning

[BigHouse Guitar]

Actually I had a lawyer look into the matter. The problem would begin if I were to use the words fender or telecaster. It is no longer a matter for the law to use that headstock shape. Believe me, I didn't make one bit of that guitar until I knew I had the legal go-ahead. Anyone is welcome to check into the matter. The bottom line is that Fender may still want you to believe it's illegal, but it most definitely is not.

[RSRelic]

Don't bank on what your lawyer says here and don't think it's just about the letter of the law with Fender. Fender went to court with Nash guitars over this and Nash won, but it cost him a lot of money to win. They are in a court case with Peavey right now and the legal bills are off the charts because Peavey is trying to win this and get the trademark thrown out for good. This is a fact Fender will drag you into court over that head and they will cost you a lot of money even if they know they will loose because a million dollars is nothing to them and they know it will kill you. You are making a nice looking guitar there, so step up and change your head to your own design then go to NAMM with your own look. Take it from someone who has been there and had the evil empire on their ass.

[SatelliteAmps]

As for the real question, how important is it to exhibit at NAMM? That is a huge question. It's not cheap by any means, and the returns should be much larger than it takes to get there. Having one good session player probably isn't enough to warrant the attention you might want from the show. Most people spend in the area of about $7-$15k for a small booth, and all expenses. Right now with the way the economy is, things are pretty rough with most retailers that go to NAMM. Show sales are down (NAMM has already dropped the prices for the booths for summer NAMM, got airlines and hotels to go even lower than they already were, and it is still a pretty empty show).

As for the legal question, Fender has a few things up it's sleeve besides the copyright on the headstock (which they do still own, and still can sue people for, regardless of what your lawyer, or Nash, or anyone else says). One of the important things about owning a trademarked item is that you ALWAYS have to pursue people when you know someone is violating the trademark. If you don't, then you can potentially lose the mark. One of Fender's ways of getting around suing people is by going to the suppliers. Most people making Fender knock-off's (doesn't matter if you are mixing necks and bodies, it's still a knock-off in their eyes) are getting their bodies and necks from either All-Parts, Warmoth, or Mighty-Mite. Those people are all subject to an agreement that they can only sell people REPLACEMENT bodies and necks. Once people start ordering in quantity they get a nice letter from Fender Legal Department with a Cease and Desist letter, and they get a notice from the supplier that they cannot sell those parts in quantity. Once served with a Cease & Desist notice, they can take a violator of that notice to court if the person sells one more item that is in violation. They might not win, but they might. If they do win, ALL profits go directly to them including previous profits made from any items in violation, and all parts or guitars are destroyed. A second consideration is that if a maker uses Fender style parts, and refers to their creations as a Fender style guitar, it is a lot easier for Fender to win in a lawsuit.

Good luck.

[Reason]

You have to have an objective to justify NAMM and frankly, not all objectives fit the NAMM model. Our objective was to get "destination" stores in key markets and NAMM was not effective (for us as a new brand) when we went to Winter NAMM. We have found that taking road trips and getting (brief) 1 on 1 time with sales guys in their stores is much more effective. You can do a lot of road tripping for the cost of NAMM.

We'll probably be back to NAMM this winter, but with a new product line and a different objective: broad distribution.

Hope this helps.

[apalazzolo]

i have been an ip lawyer for 14 years and have a large number of clients in this space ... you need a second opinion on the headstock issue ... kudos to loni spector for pointing that out and shame on whoever gave you the green light on this ... get a second opinion ....

no legal advice has been rendered and no attorney client relationship has been established ...

[Ian Anderson]

Haha you need a better laywer. Trust me on that one! Been there, done that, changed the headstock...

[BLUESMANVINTAGE]

SO nash IS now PUTTING THE HEADTSOCK OUT WITH his logo... IS THAT CAUSE HE WON?

ALSO How much does the headstock need to change?

is simply flattening the "END" a little bit suitable?

(like jeff senn)

Or should it be drastically changed like SUHR or anderson?

[RSRelic]

SO nash IS now PUTTING THE HEADTSOCK OUT WITH his logo... IS THAT CAUSE HE WON?

ALSO How much does the headstock need to change?

is simply flattening the "END" a little bit suitable?

(like jeff senn)

Or should it be drastically changed like SUHR or anderson?
The details of what Nash can and can not do are not known, but when they came afer us we changed the headstock and sent then a file showing the new head and their legal department had no problem with the change. The law says it has to be 20% different or it's too close, but who knows what 20% really looks like, so we just found a headstock we could mod out of our original headstock that they had the problem with.

[Husky]

When I was at Fender they pursued anyone who put a ball on the end of the headstock, ask Anderson. His was certainly more than 20% different.
The question here is also if they come after you do you have enough money to fight them ?

Actually I had a lawyer look into the matter. The problem would begin if I were to use the words fender or telecaster. It is no longer a matter for the law to use that headstock shape. Believe me, I didn't make one bit of that guitar until I knew I had the legal go-ahead. Anyone is welcome to check into the matter. The bottom line is that Fender may still want you to believe it's illegal, but it most definitely is not.I would seek counsel who is more involved in this issue, I can give you numbers if you like.
The Fender Headstock shape is a trademark, Nash has avoided the issue because he has the money to fight and he uses licensed necks from what I understand (could be wrong of course)
After Fender recovers from the body shape trademark attempt I'm sure they will start going after headstock infringements. They did not loose their headstock trademark.

As for the question.... NAMM is a waste of money unless you think you can setup a dealer network and are willing to sell guitars at dealer prices.

[Reason]

As for the question.... NAMM is a waste of money unless you think you can setup a dealer network and are willing to sell guitars at dealer prices.

Yea, what he said.

[BigHouse Guitar]

I just looked at some guitars by Big Tex. He's been doing this for years with the Fender headstock. How can he still be going if Fender will sue anyone who uses their shape?
Just Curious.

[BLUESMANVINTAGE]

THERE IS ALSO A FEW GUYS, (who will remain nameless) that are building blackguards with decals and SERIAL NUMBERS!!!

IVE even seen this one particular guy trying to pass his off as "early custom shop models"



Tha t guy will end up geting "THE LETTER" Im sure.

[Husky]

Hey it is just a matter of time like the IRS
The problem with using that headstock is that it is a trademark. In my limited understanding of a trademark I believe they can also sue for guitars sold when they do have time to catch to them. Maybe a lawyer here could clear that up. The replacement licensed necks are to be used as replacement parts only. This could be a fuzzy area. Using non licensed necks on your product especially with your logo is just asking for the big dogs to come knocking.