Members dougbeens Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 I'm curious... We always see these "perfect" copies of Gibsons (esp. the Les Paul) from Tokai, which of course is made in Japan, or sometimes Korea... ...and it seems that the only easy way for Americans to order these Japanese Tokai copies is eBay it from Japan, or in most cases, from Canadian Tokai dealers... so how is this happening? is Gibson not able to enforce its copyright outside of US borders? (any experts on copyright laws and patents around here?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shocker Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 I'm not an expert, but US laws in general only apply to people and companies in the US. //S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SlaveofPain Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 yeah. that's why ESP can make explorer and RR1 guitars in Japan. that's also the reason the RIAA hasn't sued "illegal" downloaders from europe or elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members walt0915 Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 A number of foreign countries honor US copyright/patent, but number don't. Also, not every country's notion of what can by protected is the same. The US has substantially liberaized such protection in the last 30 years to cover thing that never could have been covered before, and a lot of other countries have NOT followed suit. BTW, you cannot copyright a guitar. You could copyright a plan or patent a design or establish a trademark, but copyright extends to written works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Buerk Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 What he said. Basically, a US company has to take up the issue with each foreign country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Good luck trying to make headway in the Chinese courts..... But I do wonder why they don't just go all out and put the gibson name on guitars over there. What's stopping them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members andy6789 Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 thats a trademark company name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Park Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Originally posted by andrew7896 thats a trademark company name. So is the design, but that's not stopping them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 Originally posted by Johnny Park So is the design, but that's not stopping them... No. The name is a trademark in virtually all countries, but the design is not. I'd suggest the recognition of the outline of a guitar as being a trademark is unique to the US. At least, AFAIK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeff Posted July 30, 2005 Members Share Posted July 30, 2005 If a company is doing business in the U.S. (like selling their goods), then, YES, trademark, copyright, and patent laws apply. This applies to eBay sellers also. Rickenbacker has successfully halted sales of copies of their guitars on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gg82 Posted July 31, 2005 Members Share Posted July 31, 2005 I think the Levinson Blade guitars are sold with a strat headstock design in Europe and elsewhere, but not in the U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dew_Riffic Posted July 31, 2005 Members Share Posted July 31, 2005 what about Canada? How come i cannot but a ESP Explorer in Canada, but i can in japan? Is it because US and Canada have such tight laws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zen Posted July 31, 2005 Members Share Posted July 31, 2005 Then PRS should base themselves overseas and get that singlecut model back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted July 31, 2005 Members Share Posted July 31, 2005 you answered the question yourself... because we do see so many precise copies of both MIA big two, they can`t control copyright outside the US... just don`t try to import any of those copies to sell in shops without permission though. As is well known, many players buy copies on line but that is different from importing to sell... correct me if I`m wrong you business majors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seifukusha Posted July 31, 2005 Members Share Posted July 31, 2005 i love japanese copies.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oyaji Posted July 31, 2005 Members Share Posted July 31, 2005 sigh... American law and international treaty are not synonymous. That's why Gibson's whine goes unheeded outside of the states. Gibson can kiss my ass for all the belly-aching they do in American courts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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