Gibson issues cease and desist to Trump Guitars over $12k Les Paul lookalikes
UPDATE 25/11: Gibson has issued a cease and desist order to Trump Guitars owner 16 Creative, accusing it of infringing upon its trademarks. In a new statement shared with Guitar World, Gibson writes: “We can confirm a cease and desist has been issued against 16 Creative as the design infringes upon Gibson’s exclusive trademarks, particularly the iconic Les Paul body shape.”
By now, you’ve probably seen Trump Guitars, a new guitar company that produces Donald Trump-, MAGA-inspired instruments, some of which command five-figure prices.
The guitars are endorsed by the man himself – the website shows him holding one of the instruments, and the soon-to-be 47th President even took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to promote the guitars.
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Trump has a long track record of producing officially endorsed merchandise of course – from the famous MAGA hat to sneakers and even bibles. This particular venture appears not directly owned by Trump, the website claims to be ‘veteran-owned’, but is selling hand-signed instruments for nearly $12,000
While the prices and design of these guitars has understandably got a lot of attention, the most controversial thing about them might actually be the body shapes used in the electric guitars.
The single-cut design of the electrics in both the American Eagle and Presidential series (each of which retail at $1,500 in non-signed) are clearly inspired by the Gibson Les Paul.
While they differ in many ways from Gibson’s most iconic design – not least due to its rather agricultural bolt-on neck – the resemblance is there for all to see.
Interestingly, given that some of these guitars have ‘Make America Great Again’ literally written down the fretboard, it doesn’t appear that they’re made in the USA like all Gibson guitars are, with the FAQs on the website nebulously stating:
“These guitars have been manufactured by multiple providers and include parts/features that are both domestic and international. This is standard with most guitar manufacturers.”
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/113516618080692655
Gibson is of course known for zeal with which it has sought to restrict the use of its body shapes in recent years – most notably the ongoing dispute with Dean Guitars, in which it accused of infringing upon its trademarks for various body shapes.
The guitar giant has also been involved in legal disputes with Warwick and Heritage Guitars – which does also produce single-cut guitars in the Les Paul style in the USA – over its trademarks in recent years [Heritage and Guitar.com are both part of the Caldecott Music Group]. It has also issued cease and desist orders to companies including Kiesel, Mojo Hand FX and others, accusing them of infringing on its trademarks.
It’s of course pure speculation at this point, but given the similarity of these guitars to the Les Paul, it’s worth wondering if Gibson would send its legal team after President Trump (or at least the company making guitars in his name) next?
Given the legal challenges that the 45th (and soon to be 47th) President has faced in recent years without impeding his political ambitions, it’s hard to imagine him losing sleep over the prospect.
Guitar.com has reached out to Gibson & Heritage for comment.
For more information, head to gettrumpguitars.com.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
