is it ok to make knock-offs of a famous guitar as long as you dont put the Brand name on it?

Question

i can clone any guitar I want and i would like to sell them. is it ok as long as I dont copy the gibson brand name and head stock
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Answer 1

You can do whatever you want as long as you don't violate patents and trademarks. So you should just go for it and put your own name on these instruments. Maybe someday somebody will be knocking off your work.

Answer 2

Call a small business or patent attorney near you. They might simply answer your question by phone, or they'll research it, and charge you a small consultation fee. Do discuss the fee before you agree! If the question is not quite up their alley, most will refer you to a colleague better suited to help you.

Either way, knowing the actual law that applies, rather than somebody's guess, would be a Good Thing. Also, if cloning them would be a problem, perhaps the changes you'd need to make to keep you out of court would be imperceptible to most. Attorneys are good at finding those things out.

And if you do well, you'll want a relationship with a small business attorney for the long term, anyway.
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Answer 3

Here is a guitar building, restoring resource for you. The people there are experts and will be able to answer your questions right away:

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/