Is the Monkey Grip a Trademark? - Galveston guitars

[plantboy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI...tem=1449713334

is this legal? *this guitar has a monkey grip. *I thought there was some trademark or patent on it...

[SalemB]

I don't think it is illegal to create a handle in the body.
Calling it a monkey grip is however trademarked and illegal.

[cerealk]

I think Galveston are likely to be infringing copyright by making and marketing guitars such as these.

[iain]

Quote: from SalemB on 3:05 pm on July 24, 2001
I don't think it is illegal to create a handle in the body.
Calling it a monkey grip is however trademarked and illegal.

It is not illegal to make a guitar with a monkey grip, but it is illegal to sell it. At least, that's the way I think it goes???? I'm sure others know for sure.


edit: spelling

(Edited by iain at 4:19 pm on July 24, 2001)

[YaYoGakk]

Rich talks about the copyright issue of the grip in this thread...

http://jemsiteforum.com/board/topic....&topic=269

Alden

[bluenote]

here is the real story on trademarks and guitars(im going through this process rightnow).....for example, headstock designs.....if a company trademarks a headstock shape ala fender or ibanez, then noone is allowed to produce it unless the company that holds the trademark gives permission......it doesnt matter if it has a logo or not, the headstock is what is protected.....the big companies are cracking down now, especcially fender......however, they are really just going after big companies and not the little guy......the little guy usually gets a desist order sent, the big guys go to court.....anyone can trademark anything, even a headstock....now, a lot of people ask "how are some of these big companies getting away with making the fender headstock?" the answer is fender hasnt caught them yet.....but they will.....i know a lot of the star guitars like jake e lee had fender headstocks on his personal esp guitars and some others with jackson as well....both companies risked getting sued making them....doesnt matter if you are an endorsee, its still a infringement of the trademark......


by the way, jackson is lawsuit crazy too...they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to keep wayne charvel from using his own name and producing guitars....as well as a lot more sueing esp

[LGMT]

...... i think that after 10 or 15 years you can use the patented item but need to pay some taxes of use, like JVC inventor of VHS, in the beggining they're selling tech ..... others companies can't use the tecnology until patent period expired, after this need to pay or buy the tech

[bluenote]

we were talking trademarks....patent are different, they run out but are usually renewed....doesnt matter, if its patented or trademarked, you have to pay or get permission *to produce it

[Kevan]

Instead of babbling about Jacks*ns, Wayne Charv*l, and Fend*rs, I'll answer the question:

Yes.
The "Monkey Grip", the "Lions Claw Trem Route" and the goosebeak headstock shape are copywritten and trademarked by Ibanez.

P.S.- Iain is correct (see above).

(Edited by Kevan at 12:51 pm on Dec. 20, 2001)

[bluenote]

im sure everything about the jem is trademarked....and it doesnt matter whether you sell it or not, its trademarked and protected....you cant produce it without permission...just lik esp cant legally make a strat headstock and give them to an artist....these are facts, not arguments

[jay ratkowski]

*predicting the ensuing battle royale*

I'd just like to say...

Facts are not important here, so keep that in mind as you all go back and forth on this rather than just maybe... I don't know, getting some PROOF from maybe a law book. *Just a thought that might save us some time and actually answer someone's question for once. *Enjoy! *:silly:

I'm not trying to disagree with what anyone has said, but I know how this place usually works...

[Kevan]

jay ratkowski on 12:41 pm on Dec. 21, 2001
...getting some PROOF from maybe a law book. *Just a thought that might save us some time and actually answer someone's question for once.

Call Wayne Charv*l (or his atty.) and/or Fend*r. *I'm sure they have special sections dedicated to "the good ol' days".

Your proof is evident in todays guitars. *Ibanez stopped making copies and began their own designs about the same time the lawsuits began showing up on certain folks' doorsteps. *Check out your latest issue of the St*wMac catalog- they won't even cut headstock shapes anymore.

There's your proof.

To ammend what Doug said:
"...you cant produce it without permission..."
should be:
"...you can produce them without permission for your own private use, but you are not allowed to sell them...."

[bluenote]

actually, i have discussed this with mike charvel, waynes son and partner.....and lawyers...plus, ive trademarked actually trademarked logos, headstock designes.....no battle royal, kevan just likes to argue....i was just trying to clear up what a lot of people have misconceptions of....kevans little grasp at syntax is childish......when you produce it, its a trademark infringement....whether its for you or someone else....those are facts....the only thing is, these comapnies arent going to bother with the little guy, they arent a threat....fender is clamping down again.....you will slowly see a bunch of these guys not making fender clones soon....

oh, and it wasnt wayne that had trouble with fender, it was jackson.....wayne kept getting sued by jackson for silly things like going to NAMM and using his own name

[Kevan]

Ok jackass, why is that when I "reproduce" The Matrix on my TV, does the FBI not bust down my door? *Why don't I have Joel Silver crawling up my azz with a microscope?

I've done it dozens of times, in the privacy of my own home, but no one knocks.

Hmmm....

(You're in enough trouble. *Don't try to pick a fight. *You will lose.)

[jay ratkowski]

Because I think the FBI has a lot better things to do aside from going after small-time VHS copiers and one-time software piraters. *As much as we'd all like to think we are so important to demand that kind of attention, no one really cares until it starts to affect them in some way.

Also, legal issues aside, I think Ibanez probably started making their own guitars more so they could last as a company. *It's just like going to see a cover band, why settle for a copy when you can have an original?

Since namecalling is obviously now allowed here, I'd just like to say that both of you are still schmucks for not finding proof on the issue. *:biggrin: *Note: **assumptions** on the choices of a company does not constitute proof. *I can easily go to a website and copy/paste the laws on trademarks into a post here, but I'd rather see one of you two do it.

(Edited by jay ratkowski at 7:55 pm on Dec. 21, 2001)