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Old 09-30-2010, 03:10 PM
mjudd mjudd is offline
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I believe Guild was also sued by Gibson for trademark infringement back in the 50's or early 60's for having a headstock shape that was either identical or seriously similar to theirs.

That said, there are two points to consider:

If you're a private builder building for yourself, you're NOT going to get into trouble copying a shape, even if it sufficiently unique (like Fender's or Gibson's) unless you start making guitars for sale to someone else. Just for yourself, you're okay. While it still may be illegal, technically, these big companies aren't going to come after someone unless you are either selling guitars with their headstock shape or trying to pass yours off as the real thing.

Secondly, some shapes are used by a LOT of people. The simpler the shape, the less likely you are to get into trouble over it. The (nearly) rectangular shape used by Martin would be nearly impossible to trademark, for example, because (a) it is too simple and obvious, and (b) a lot of people use that same shape. The more unique the shape, the more likely you are to be stepping on someone's toes.

When building my first guitar, I designed a shape in my head that was simple and yet different than anything I could remember seeing on a headstock. I googled images for guitar headstocks and saw that two or three independent builders were using that same shape. I could have still used it, but decided against it, because one of the builders was well known, and I didn't want to seem to be copying his shape, even though the build was just for me. I eventually went with an "A" tapered headstock with a rounded top. Simple design, and even if someone else is using it, it's simple enough that I'm sure I couldn't get in trouble, even if I started selling guitars. I designed it myself without copying anyone else's exact shape.
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1956 Guild F-20
1979 Martin D-18 12-string
1983 Ovation Custom Legend
1986 Squire Fat Strat (Korean)
2004 Gibson Les Paul Classic
2007 Fender Standard Stratocaster (Mexican Strat)
2010 Guild F-47rc (Purchased in 2012)
2013 Home-made Stratocasters (x2)
2017 Martin GPCRSG
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