Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson - kitekrazy - 17:17 18-11-05
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http://www.prsguitars.com/news/stories/091205_victory.html
In a long-pending trademark dispute between PRS Guitars and Gibson
Guitars Corp., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
today reversed a lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of
Gibson's suit against PRS. The decision also immediately vacates the
injunction prohibiting the sale and production of PRS’s award winning
Singlecut® Guitar. Paul Reed Smith Guitars announced today that it will
immediately resume production of its Singlecut® guitars.
Paul Smith, the founder of PRS, stated “We are delighted that the
appellate court affirmed what we and the industry have long known: the
PRS Singlecuts® are musical instruments of the highest quality that
would never be confused with a competitor’s product.”
In the litigation, Gibson alleged that concert goers in a smoky concert
hall might not be able to differentiate a PRS Singlecut® from a Gibson
Les Paul. The appellate court rejected that trademark theory
out-of-hand, emphasizing Gibson’s concession in court arguments that
“only an idiot” would confuse the two products at the point of sale.
William Coston, PRS lawyer, observed that the decision is a vindication
of PRS’ meritorious defense of unfounded allegations: “We agree with the
Court and Gibson’s own counsel that 'only an idiot' would be confused".
Sadly, the injunction lasted too long and the court process was too long
and costly, depriving consumers of the right to choose between the PRS
Singlecut® and the Gibson Les Paul. We hope that Gibson will now compete
in the marketplace and not use litigation to obtain unfair advantage.
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Re: Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson - Jim Anable - 18:04 18-11-05
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> William Coston, PRS lawyer, observed that the decision is a vindication
> of PRS’ meritorious defense of unfounded allegations: “We agree with the
> Court and Gibson’s own counsel that 'only an idiot' would be confused".
Gibson's own attorney said that??? Wow.
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Re: Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson - Dave Van - 18:41 18-11-05
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Jim Anable wrote:
>
>> William Coston, PRS lawyer, observed that the decision is a
>> vindication of PRS’ meritorious defense of unfounded allegations: “We
>> agree with the Court and Gibson’s own counsel that 'only an idiot'
>> would be confused".
>
>
> Gibson's own attorney said that??? Wow.
He didn't "say it".... He "conceded" that "only an idiot" would confuse
the two guitars at point of sale.
Their case was based on the idea that a patron might see a Gibson Les
Paul being played on stage, decide he wanted one and then go to the
store and accidentally buy a PRS.
Lawyers!
Oops... No offense, Jim. ;)
I noticed that PRS already has the single cut models back up on their
website... Or is that a Gibson? I can't tell...
http://www.prsguitars.com/showcase/current/20singlecut.html
DV
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Re: Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson - Jim Anable - 18:50 18-11-05
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Dave Van wrote:
> Jim Anable wrote:
>
>>
>>> William Coston, PRS lawyer, observed that the decision is a
>>> vindication of PRS’ meritorious defense of unfounded allegations: “We
>>> agree with the Court and Gibson’s own counsel that 'only an idiot'
>>> would be confused".
>>
>>
>>
>> Gibson's own attorney said that??? Wow.
>
>
>
> He didn't "say it".... He "conceded" that "only an idiot" would confuse
> the two guitars at point of sale.
>
> Their case was based on the idea that a patron might see a Gibson Les
> Paul being played on stage, decide he wanted one and then go to the
> store and accidentally buy a PRS.
>
> Lawyers!
>
> Oops... No offense, Jim. ;)
None taken. But think about it, confusion in the marketplace is a major
issue in these cases. And courts obviously disagree on what rises to an
actionable level of confusion.
The reality in the market place is that most musicians know that there
are many guitars that "kinda look like" other previous models. The vast
majority are never going to be confused. Perhaps this Court recognized
this distinction.
>
> I noticed that PRS already has the single cut models back up on their
> website... Or is that a Gibson? I can't tell...
>
> http://www.prsguitars.com/showcase/current/20singlecut.html
>
> DV
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Re: Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson - kitekrazy - 18:57 18-11-05
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Seemed like sour grapes on behalf of Gibson anyway.
I guess after the lawsuit, stores could sell the remaining guitars
because a Sam Ash had them slightly reduced.
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Re: Appellate Court Awards Victory to Paul Reed Smith Guitars (PRS) Over Gibson - Dave Van - 22:28 18-11-05
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in article 11nsq4lm5nbtk52@corp.supernews.com, Jim Anable at
jim@seattle-attorney.com wrote on 11/18/05 5:50 PM:
> Dave Van wrote:
>> Jim Anable wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>> William Coston, PRS lawyer, observed that the decision is a
>>>> vindication of PRS¹ meritorious defense of unfounded allegations: ³We
>>>> agree with the Court and Gibson¹s own counsel that 'only an idiot'
>>>> would be confused".
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Gibson's own attorney said that??? Wow.
>>
>>
>>
>> He didn't "say it".... He "conceded" that "only an idiot" would confuse
>> the two guitars at point of sale.
>>
>> Their case was based on the idea that a patron might see a Gibson Les
>> Paul being played on stage, decide he wanted one and then go to the
>> store and accidentally buy a PRS.
>>
>> Lawyers!
>>
>> Oops... No offense, Jim. ;)
>
> None taken. But think about it, confusion in the marketplace is a major
> issue in these cases.
Maybe. But I think in reality it's wasn't confusion but competition in the
marketplace that the Gibson objected to. Hammers looks like hammers and, in
general, guitars look like guitars.
> And courts obviously disagree on what rises to an
> actionable level of confusion.
>
> The reality in the market place is that most musicians know that there
> are many guitars that "kinda look like" other previous models. The vast
> majority are never going to be confused. Perhaps this Court recognized
> this distinction.
>
>
>>
>> I noticed that PRS already has the single cut models back up on their
>> website... Or is that a Gibson? I can't tell...
>>
>> http://www.prsguitars.com/showcase/current/20singlecut.html
>>
>> DV
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