mab Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 (edited) Hey folks! Im actually designing my own guitar and would like to use the form of the Musicman Stingray pickguard and electronic cover. Does anybody know - if they are - in what way those two parts are copyright protected? Sorry for bad english, German here... Thx, mab Edited January 6, 2006 by mab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernova9 Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Hey folks! Im actually designing my own guitar and would like to use the form of the Musicman Stingray pickguard and electronic cover. Does anybody know - if they are - in what way those two parts are copyright protected? Sorry for bad english, German here... Thx, mab ← If you're building them for yourself, it shouldn't be a problem. Copyright laws come into play when you try to sell the guitars using said features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mab Posted January 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 OK, I knew that before. But what i wanted to know is if those parts are protected under copyright laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 In a word, no. A copyright is different than a trademark. Also not the same as a patent. Different names, different applications, different laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mab Posted January 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 OK OK, are they protected under patent oder trademark laws then? ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mab Posted January 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 If they are, can I avoid copying it by changing lets say the x dimension a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Well, what are you asking really? Are you building this guitar for yourself, or are you trying to sell it? If it's just for yourself, then this is not an issue. Do whatever you want to make the guitar YOU want. Call it a 'homage' and be happy. If it's for a guitar you're selling, well, that's a little different. But given the number of strat copies-- including pickguards--in the world, that's not a huge deal either. Still, it's difficult to sell a guitar as 'your' design if you're using someone else's designs. Nonetheless, there are plenty of luthiers selling copies out there, they seem to be doing all right. My take: if your body style is different from the Stingray, then chances are your pickguard is going to have to be modified a bit to fit that anyway. If your body style is a copy of the stringray, then why worry about the pickguard? And if your main interest is in coming up with an original design, then do that, don't copy someone else. Whatever, it's unlikely anyone's going to sue you, at least until your reach the PRS level, anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mab Posted January 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 (edited) Thx, Mickguard, your post was a great help. The deal is that two or three people here around my town are interested in a Stingray but cannot afford the money to get one original one. They asked me and I agreed building it for around 1100 Euros (instead of 1700 here in Germany). So theres the problem because they want something that looks like a Stingray, well, they would agree with some small changes, but it shall still look like the original in general. And i can't and don't want to copy the bass 1:1. So I thought about possibilities to change the pickguards and electronic covers design as I already found a good looking change for the body that i've never seen anywhere before. But I think those two parts should look very much like the original as - in my opinion - those are the parts the make the Stingray look. Hope to get help here. mab Edited January 7, 2006 by mab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 I don't really see a problem with it, and I don't think Music Man would either (if they still exist) --you're not trying to pass the guitar off as a real Stingray, and you're not trying to pass it off as your own design either. And you're not launching mass production of it either. I see no problem with making 'homage' guitars, really. Especially if you're a luthier and your clients are requesting a certain guitar style --if you look at a lot of luthier sites, they offer their own designs, as well as their own versions of existing designs. As for your clients turning to you just so they can save a few bucks on what they really want, well, that's their choice. If I REALLY wanted a Rickenbacker, I wouldn't have made my Rocket 350, I'd have bought one. So I think you're right to encourage them to re-develop the Stingray to include their personal taste/preferences. But in a case of a guitar like the Stingray, or a Rickenbacker type, or a Tele Clone, etc., the pickguard is a HUGE part of the look of it. You can always play with the idea to make it your own, if you like, such as make the pickguard out of a material that you'd never find on the real thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 Music man has an affiliate company that produces all of the same guitars as music man at about half the price. Obviously the quality probably suffers, but you might want to look into those. My $.02 peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mab Posted January 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 Well, don't tell that my clients, man! ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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