Valkyrie 7 String.

[zeegler]

Shane mentioned it, already, but building guitars with trademarked headstocks is just asking for trouble, regardless of how many you build. BS or not, they know that the little guy probably doesn't have the money to go to court to fight a C&D letter and they use that to their advantage. Even if you just build a handful a year with your own (or no) logo, right or wrong, you can still be dragged to court. If you have designs trademarked and don't protect them, you lose your trademark (which has happened to Gibson and Fender regarding their body shapes and some of their headstocks).

Sully

Yeah, depends on the shape though really. I'll bet Jackson would have a tough time claiming they hold the rights to their headstock shape exclusively, as many companies have used that shape over the years. Hey, look at all the guys that build LP clones, and 99% of them have the classic open book headstock. One day I'll probably build my own LP, and I'll definitely be using the standard shaped headstock. I'm not too concerned about what these companies will do legally. I'm more concerned about what is morally correct. If I feel I am profiting from someone else's intellectual property, then it feels wrong, and I won't do it. YMMV

[sully]

Jackson has successfully gone after folks over their headstock (although they seem mostly concerned about people making Concorde/LTDs), and yeah, tons of people use that open book design, and IMO, they're asking for trouble I know a guy who makes mini/octave guitars that are LP shaped; he's on CD letter #2 from Gibson, even after changing his headstock and cutaway shape. IMO, it's just not worth the hassle.

Sully

[zeegler]

Jackson has successfully gone after folks over their headstock (although they seem mostly concerned about people making Concorde/LTDs), and yeah, tons of people use that open book design, and IMO, they're asking for trouble I know a guy who makes mini/octave guitars that are LP shaped; he's on CD letter #2 from Gibson, even after changing his headstock and cutaway shape. IMO, it's just not worth the hassle.

Sully

No shit?! I suppose I'm not surprised really. Looking on the bright side, their legal stance encourages variety.