Gibson Reportedly Sends Cease and Desist to Kiesel Over Ultra V Design
The company also allegedly received a cease and desist over its CS6 California Single model.
One of the biggest stories in the guitar industry last year was Gibson's high-profile lawsuit against Dean for trademark infringement. Though the results of the lawsuit - and Dean's countersuit - are still pending, Gibson is now reportedly pursuing a case against another big-name guitar brand, Kiesel.
In a video published to Kiesel's Instagram channel, the company's Vice-President, Jeff Kiesel, revealed that the company had recently received a cease-and-desist letter from Gibson over Kiesel’s Ultra-V model, and its alleged similarities to Gibson's Flying V.
“Their trademark was fulfilled in 1995, our model came out [under the Carvin name] in 1986,” Kiesel said.
“I named the Ultra V, so I think it was about ’86 when it came out - I was seven years old, so it’s a really special model to me.
“To have those bozos try to tell us we can’t make it any more when it looks literally nothing like it - I mean, come on guys, look at the pointed body, look at the bevel on it: does that look anything like their V?”
Kiesel elaborated on the letter in an interview with The Guitologist, where he mentioned that Gibson has also issued a cease and desist over the company’s CS6 California Single, which was released in 2006.
The CS6 California Single was launched following PRS' victory in the landmark 2005 PRS vs Gibson case, a legal battle that was launched over PRS' Les Paul-esque Singlecut model.
Of the company's next moves, Kiesel said “We have to give a letter back to them, but we’ll let them know that, ‘Hey, if you need to go ahead and sue us, that’s okay.'
“It’s not a battle they’re going to win, and we’re not gonna back down. Because, at the end of the day, we have logic and facts behind us; they have nothing.”
Guitar Player has reached out to Gibson for comment
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
I think it is too close. Gibson should win I say. Back in the 80's when Gubson and Fender were being copied by several makes it ended up in court with a focus on the headstock. The headstock HAD to be noticeably different. In the 90's I saw a player in Nightranger playing a Charvel Super Strat and the headstock was exactly like a Fender. I discovered later that Fender bought Charvel and Jackson so it was cool to have that headstock design on the Charvel
I'm not an IP lawyer, and don't play one on TV, but the problem I see here is that a trademark owner doesn't just have the right to stop others from using a registered mark, but the trademark owner has a duty to enforce (duty to police). Basically, protect your mark or risk losing it. Go ask Bayer about "aspirin" (which was Bayer's brand name for acetylsalicylic acid).
Carvin has openly sold their version of the V for 35 years and Gibson did nothing about it. Same thing with Dean's version of the Explorer. That's where I see Gibson having a problem now enforcing its trademark in designs others have sold for years/decades openly and without Gibson having challenged it.
Then again, Singer loss trademark protection for its sewing machines and managed to earn reprotected status 50+ years later, so maybe that's what Gibson is trying to do here.
