Gibson Brands
Gibson Brands Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation) is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashville, Tennessee. The company was formerly known as Gibson Guitar Corporation and renamed Gibson Brands Inc. on June 11, 2013.[7][8]
Formerly
Gibson Guitar Corp.
1894[1] in Kalamazoo, Michigan
Worldwide
-
- Baldwin
- Epiphone
- Kramer
- KRK Systems
- Mesa Boogie
- Steinberger
- Tobias
Orville Gibson started making instruments in 1894 and founded the company in 1902 as the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd. in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to make mandolin-family instruments.[1] Gibson invented archtop guitars by constructing the same type of carved, arched tops used on violins. By the 1930s, the company was also making flattop acoustic guitars, as well as one of the first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars, used and popularized by Charlie Christian. In 1944, Gibson was bought by Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), which was acquired in 1969 by Panama-based conglomerate Ecuadorian Company Limited (ECL), that changed its name in the same year to Norlin Corporation. Gibson was owned by Norlin Corporation from 1969 to 1986. In 1986, the company was acquired by a group led by Henry Juszkiewicz and David H. Berryman. In November 2018, the company was acquired by a group of investors led by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
Gibson sells guitars under a variety of brand names[9] and builds one of the world's best-known guitars, the Gibson Les Paul. Gibson was at the forefront of innovation in acoustic guitars, especially in the big band era of the 1930s; the Gibson Super 400 was widely imitated. In 1952, Gibson introduced its first solid-body electric guitar, the Les Paul, which became its most popular guitar to date—designed by a team led by Ted McCarty.
In addition to guitars, Gibson offers consumer electronics through the Gibson Pro Audio division, which includes KRK.
On May 1, 2018, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,[10] and announced a restructuring plan to return to profitability by closing down unprofitable consumer electronics divisions such as Gibson Innovations.[11][12] The company exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2018.[13][14]
In January 2020, the company launched Gibson TV, an online television network focused on guitars and music culture.[15][16]
Legal actions[edit]
Origin of "lawsuit guitars"[edit]
In 1977, Gibson sued Hoshino Gakki/Elger Guitars for copying the "archtop" headstock. The lawsuit was settled out of court, and Ibanez replaced the headstock with a revised design.[45]
In 2000, Gibson sued Fernandes Guitars in a Tokyo court for allegedly copying Gibson designs. Gibson did not prevail.[46]
PRS[edit]
Gibson also sued PRS Guitars in 2005, to stop them from making their Singlecut model. Initially successful,[47] the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court's decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS.[48]
FWS raids & Lacey Act violation[edit]
Gibson's factories were raided in 2009 and 2011 by agents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). In November 2009, authorities found illegally imported ebony wood from Madagascar.[49][50] A second raid was conducted in August 2011,[49] during which the FWS seized wood imports from India that had been mislabeled on the US Customs declaration.[51][52] Gibson Guitar Corp. filed a motion in January 2011 to recover seized materials and overturn the charges, which was denied by the court.[53][54]
The United States Department of Justice found emails from 2008 and 2009 in which Gibson employees discussed the "gray market" nature of the ebony wood available from a German wood dealer—who obtained it from a supplier in Madagascar—as well as plans to obtain the wood. It filed a civil proceeding in June 2011,[52][55][56] the first such case under the amended Lacey Act, which requires importing companies to purchase legally harvested wood and follow the environmental laws of the producing countries regardless of corruption or lack of enforcement.[56] Gibson argued in a statement the following day that authorities were "bullying Gibson without filing charges" and denied any wrongdoing.[51][57] Arguing against the federal regulations and claiming that the move threatened jobs, Republicans and Tea Party members spoke out against the raids and supported Juszkiewicz.[58]
The case was settled on August 6, 2012, with Gibson admitting to violating the Lacey Act and agreeing to pay a fine of $300,000 in addition to a $50,000 community payment. Gibson also forfeited the wood seized in the raids, which was valued at roughly the same amount as the settlement.[59][60] However, in a subsequent statement Gibson maintained its innocence with Juszkiewicz claiming that "Gibson was inappropriately targeted" and that the government raids were "so outrageous and overreaching as to deserve further Congressional investigation." Juszkiewicz continued to state, "We felt compelled to settle as the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve."[61]
Gibson reclaimed some wood stock that was confiscated during the raids,[62] and produced a new series of guitar marketed to draw attention to the raids and seizures.[63]
In the midst of the controversy, commentators stated that the raid was a politically motivated act of retaliation by the Obama administration, as Juszkiewicz had frequently donated to Republican politicians. Chris Martin IV, the CEO of Gibson competitor C.F. Martin & Co., had donated over $35,000 to the Democratic National Committee and Democratic candidates in the same time period. Though Martin featured several guitars in its catalog made with the same Indian wood as Gibson, but with correct documentation filed, the company was not subjected to a raid.[64]
Paper Jamz[edit]
Gibson filed a lawsuit November 18, 2010, in Federal court, the Central District of California, against WowWee USA and its Paper Jamz battery-operated guitar toys, charging trademark infringement.[65][66] The lawsuit claimed the Paper Jamz toy guitars copied the looks of some of Gibson's famous guitars, the Gibson Les Paul, the Gibson Flying V, the Gibson Explorer, and the Gibson SG. On December 21, 2010, Gibson was granted a request for an injunction against WowWee and retailers in the United States which were selling Paper Jamz guitars: Walmart, Amazon, Big Lots stores, Kmart Corporation, Target Corporation, Toys "R" Us, Walgreens, Brookstone, Best Buy, eBay, Toywiz.com, and Home Shopping Network (HSN)[67][68][69] The case was dismissed with prejudice (dismissed permanently) January 11, 2011 by Federal Judge R. Gary Klausner.[70][71]
Warwick/Framus[edit]
German manufacturer Warwick was sued by Gibson with the claim that one of the models sold under the 'Framus' brand imitated the Flying V and that customers were being misled due to this. Gibson sought a stop on the sales of these guitars and also stated that "Warwick was unfairly exploiting the reputation of Gibson Guitars." The Hamburg regional court initially ruled in favour of Gibson in 2017. However, successive judgements from the Higher Regional Court and the Federal Supreme Court in November 2020 and September 2021 dismissed Gibson's lawsuits.[73][74]
Dean Guitars[edit]
Gibson sued Dean Guitars in 2019 over trademark infringement related to several guitar shapes and names.[75] The ruling in 2022 found that the Dean V, Dean Z, and Dean Gran Sport body shapes, as well as the Dovetail headstock design and the "Hummingbird" and "Moderne" names were infringing on Gibson's designs. The judgement awarded Gibson $4,000 in damages, far short of the $7 million alleged by Gibson.[76]
