Gospel headstock decal

[panther]

I do not see where my question has been addressed ?
If I restore an original Mosrite Gospel guitar and also restore the logo, have I violated a law. Like I mentioned I can restore a vintage Radio, or a 1957 Chevrolet, and put reproduced emblem on it, to maintain the exact original configuration, it seems to be done on a regular basis, and the cars are sold for BIG bucks, At the Barret auctions. No one seem concerned there.
I agree if I make a guitar from scratch, and then apply a Gospel logo, I have violated the law, because it's NOT an original Mosrite Gospel. But what about a restored original.
There is even a show on Cable, "American Restorations" He routinely reproduces famous logos and sells them for VERY high prices. Restored COKE machines which is a very highly protected trademark. He openly shows that he does it also. Personally I think it only applies if the item is NOT original. However I'm not a lawyer, but Precedence is a huge part of law, many cases are won or lost over precedence.
Dan

[Veenture]

Since this topic came up and is or has been on the minds of folks here on the forum at one time or another I figured I'd share what I know about it to help clear up any misunderstandings about trademark and copyright law.

Hopefully, this will help others to understand and avoid future infringements.

Matt, thank you very much for sharing your impressive knowledge on copyright matters! I for one have learned much from it and shall take heed

In the event that I ever did have to sell it, i would fully disclose how it came to be

Hate to say it but sometimes things can come to be beyond our control (perish the thought). I see no harm in drawing up a letter now, disclosing how things came to be. I have already included my personal 'case candy' in all of my guitar cases to avoid guessing games for my son, after I pass.

[dubtrub]

If I restore an original Mosrite Gospel guitar and also restore the logo, have I violated a law.

No! You would not be breaking any law.

[panther]

Dub;
Isn't that pretty much what 1966mosriteforever was inquiring about ? Wouldn't partsrites qualify as restoring a guitar ? After all when you restore a car you replace parts.

Dan

[raygun85]

I do not see where my question has been addressed ?
If I restore an original Mosrite Gospel guitar and also restore the logo, have I violated a law. Like I mentioned I can restore a vintage Radio, or a 1957 Chevrolet, and put reproduced emblem on it, to maintain the exact original configuration, it seems to be done on a regular basis, and the cars are sold for BIG bucks, At the Barret auctions. No one seem concerned there.
I agree if I make a guitar from scratch, and then apply a Gospel logo, I have violated the law, because it's NOT an original Mosrite Gospel. But what about a restored original.
There is even a show on Cable, "American Restorations" He routinely reproduces famous logos and sells them for VERY high prices. Restored COKE machines which is a very highly protected trademark. He openly shows that he does it also. Personally I think it only applies if the item is NOT original. However I'm not a lawyer, but Precedence is a huge part of law, many cases are won or lost over precedence.
Dan

Being a sponsored program, there is a good chance that they are licensed by the manufacturers. I know that when you buy a Ford or Chevrolet emblem from JC Whitney or Summit Racing, they are usually either manufactured by the trademark owner or the manufacturer is licensed by the trademark owner. Most programs like that are full of 'fine print' disclaimers at the end of the episode during the credits that most people never pay attention to or they're usually blocked out by network advertising. However, we're comparing apples to oranges. Chevrolet is no longer manufacturing and selling '55 Nomads or '57 Bel-Airs, so when you replicate an emblem for a car like that - they're not exactly losing money on that stuff when trying to market the 2013 Corvette.

Guitars is a whole other world - "Mosrite" is a legally registered trademark owned by Fillmore. And the guitars they're producing are replicas of the originals. The wordmarks and symbols are also the same as the ones back in the 60's. If someone starts copying them then it is a threat to their business. And we can rationalize it all we want but ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law. When you're restoring a '66 Ford Mustang or a '66 Fender Mustang, it is your responsibility to make sure you're in compliance with US and International Copyright Law.

[raygun85]

Matt, thank you very much for sharing your impressive knowledge on copyright matters! I for one have learned much from it and shall take heed

No problem! Glad to help.

[panther]

What about the Coke emblem on restored items on "American Restorations" .
Anyhow we won't settle this here. Just found this on ebay.
I tried to compress the link, but it failed.

Dan
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-Gibson-Gos ... 3cc8ea1802

[raygun85]

If I restore an original Mosrite Gospel guitar and also restore the logo, have I violated a law.

No! You would not be breaking any law.

I think it depends on the guitar. If you're putting an unbranded Partsrite together then you're breaking the law. Because who's to say that it was slated to be a 'Gospel model' or a 'Mark I'...etc...?

When restoring a guitar you're still standing on shaky ground. If you're restoring a neck and a body where the logo and all other parts are missing then how could you prove it was a 'Ventures Model' or a 'Gospel model'?

A lot of folks are still misinformed on the matter of so-called "replicas", like the 'Ventures Model' "replicas" that Semie made before he died. From talking to Don Wilson, I understand they never sanctioned Semie to make those and actually won a lawsuit in court over it. Again - nothing probably would've come of it if the Ventures hadn't pursued it. So it's usually up to the trademark owner to decide whether it's worth pursuing.

[raygun85]

What about the Coke emblem on restored items on "American Restorations" .
Anyhow we won't settle this here. Just found this on ebay.

Dan

http://tinyurl.com/7g2rlwo

As I mentioned in a previous post:

Being a sponsored program, there is a good chance that they are licensed by the manufacturers. Coca-Cola included. If nothing else, it could've been considered a 'product placement' that Coca-Cola paid for or sanctioned for promotional purposes. I couldn't say unless I looked into it more. I'm just sharing what I know.

[dubtrub]

Wouldn't partsrites qualify as restoring a guitar ?

No! A partsrite would not qualify as an original as it was never a completed item by the manufacturer. It could be a second, blemish or rejected parts assembled as a complete guitar without quality control that would have never been allowed to have the true manufactures name on it.