Gibson sues Heritage

[motokev]

I was looking at a Heritage LP at GC the other day.
The finish is a honey color with nice flame.
I think I want it....

 

[motokev]

Makes me happy to play Paul Reed Smith guitars. He worries more about fret levelling and ensuring that the finish on his guitars is of the best quality rather than suing another company.

I love Gibson and the history associated with the company, and will always love my heroes who play Les Pauls, but I must say - the manner in which they've gone about lawsuits especially the ones against Tom anderson and Kiesel have left a very bad taste.

I didn't know about Tom Anderson.
TA guitars are my favorite.

Gibson, don't mess with TA !

 

[Dashface]

A day at Gibson's exec team meeting.

CEO - "Ok guys, buyers of our super high end guitars are buying Heritage instead of us, we're losing money"

Exec's - "Let's sue them!!!!!!!"

CEO - "That's the ticket!! Get the lawyers on the horn."

Timid guy at meeting - "Why don't we just make our guitars better? The cost of the improvements would cost less than the lawsuit, AND would undercut Heritage's price point. So players would get a better product and save money by buying from us instead".

Exec's and CEO - " ????"

CEO - "You're fired Timid guy at meeting"

CEO - "Should we order Sushi for lunch?"

Also let’s be honest Heritage represents a tiny piece of the pie compared to Gibson. And I’ll betcha 90% of the people who have a Heritage also have at least one Gibson

 

[6strang]

Love Heritage and they folks at the factory. Great instruments built with intentional care and quality craftsmanship.

 

[Funkee]

Makes me happy to play Paul Reed Smith guitars. He worries more about fret levelling and ensuring that the finish on his guitars is of the best quality rather than suing another company.

I love Gibson and the history associated with the company, and will always love my heroes who play Les Pauls, but I must say - the manner in which they've gone about lawsuits especially the ones against Tom anderson and Kiesel have left a very bad taste.

Wow, I had no idea that they sued Tom Anderson. What was that all about?

---

 

[Minnapple]

 

[Member 249504]

I play authentic, G&L. Leos last company. (Oh and Also Fenders)

Good news, Gibson will sue you last.

 

[John C]

I didn't know about Tom Anderson.
TA guitars are my favorite.

Gibson, don't mess with TA !

Wow, I had no idea that they sued Tom Anderson. What was that all about?

---

It was over the shape of the guitar that is now called the Bobcat - the prior version, the Bulldog, was a bit closer to LP shape particularly the lower horn. They sent Tom a C&D letter and Tom reworked the body slightly and renamed it the Bobcat.

No affiliation with this dealer; I just happened to grab photos from a google search and they came from the same dealer.

Here's the old Bulldog Shape:

Here's the Bobcat:

 

[Member 249504]

Did you guys miss the part about Heritage having a deal with Gibson dating back to 1991? Licensing a design is not “blatantly ripping off” anyone and is certainly within the law.

Gibson feels that deal would be a lot more authentic if Gibson got a lot more money.

 

[ccc]

I think I heard or read somewhere.

Whenever a comment starts out with the above you know it's credible . Worst part isn't the comment the most embarrassing part is people actually jumped on and "Liked " it right away .

 

[Member 249504]

The article suggests the judge is not inclined to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Heritage during the initial stages of the litigation. But unless there is a settlement it will be the jury that ultimately decides whether Heritage or Gibson wins the case. That is unless both sides agree to have the judge decide the case, which is quite unlikely.

Yep. Gibson’s response being without merit doesn’t mean that Heritage’s complaint is likely to prevail, it just means that Gibson couldn’t come up with a valid legal argument to dismiss it without litigation proceeding.

 

[WickedPenguin]

In which Gibson learns that competetive law cuts both ways.

"They're using our designs...it's unfair!"

"So if you're going to claim basic design elements are your exclusive design, sue everyone who uses them, and take punitive action against retailers that try to carry both brands, isn't that setting up circumstances where Gibson would become the defacto only option for those basic elements, thus doing harm to the competitive market? Isn't that also illegally unfair?"

"Wait....you can't sue US for being unfair! That's unfair!"

Not that the actual substance of the suit has any chance of making a dent in anybody's narrative here...

 

[WickedPenguin]

One thing I know with absolute certainty , the people who constantly criticize Gibson would LOVE to own one .

Knows a thing with "absolute certainty". Dismisses any evidence to the contrary (or even the possibility said evidence exists) with a simple, flat "I don't believe you", thus forcibly maintaining their absolute certainty.

Faith-based arguments are fun. Faith-based arguments in defense of a brand are especially silly fun.

 

[Steadfastly]

Nobody wants to copy PRS designs .

Guitar manufacturers need to stick to their own designs or come up with new ones . Gibson is one of the most copied guitar manufacturers in the world .

There are lots of PRS copies made by various mfrs. AIO is one.

 

[Steadfastly]

One thing I know with absolute certainty , the people who constantly criticize Gibson would LOVE to own one .

I do the same whenever I see a PRS.

You are totally wrong in my place. I have no desire to own a Gibson at any price. I would take one if I was given one or got one at a steal of a price. I would then sell it and make some money off it. I used to work for a company that uses similar marketing techniques/lies. I won't support those companies if I can avoid it.

 

[ccc]

Hey, AOC is in the house!

I do own a Gibson, and it’s (far as I can tell anyway) flawless. It’s also the last I’ll ever buy. Sometimes horrible people get criticized just because they do horrible things, not because people are jealous.

Horrible people ha ha ha ha ha

 

[ccc]

You are totally wrong in my place. I have not desire to own a Gibson at any price. I would take one if I was given one or got one at a steal of a price. I would then sell it and make some money off it. I used to work for a company that uses similar marketing techniques/lies. I won't support those companies if I can avoid it.

Look what we have here , the price expert that started a Gibson hate thread last week .

Do you really think anybody is really going to openly admit that they would LOVE to own a Gibson ? Of course not , they need to maintain that they hate them and that they would never own a Gibson because Gibson is full of horrible horrible people lol.

 

[HERSCHEL]

I prefer Fender Headstocks even on my acoustics. Yeh I’m a weirdo.

Yeah, but that reason is far down the list as to why.

The headstock thing is so weird to me. It's like having to wear a Ralph Lauren shirt because you need to be identified by that little polo dude. So many great guitars out there and so many of the headstocks are just variations on the theme, yet so many can't get past Epiphone not having the exact Gibson headstock, even.

 

[HERSCHEL]

One thing I know with absolute certainty , the people who constantly criticize Gibson would LOVE to own one . A very large percentage of the hate comes from the anger of not being able to easily attain one.


I do the same whenever I see a PRS.

I own three, they've completely turned me off from buying another.

 

[FenderLester]

Welp, I don't know 'bout Gibson no more, but dem Heritage gee-tars are starting to look mighty purty.