Gibson Wins Copyright Lawsuit Against Dean

By Haley Nelson

In 2019 Gibson had sued Armadillo Enterprises, who manufactures Dean and Luna guitars, over trademark infringement, counterfeiting, and engaging in unfair competition. The next month, Armadillo Enterprises countersued Gibson to try and have the case dismissed, and on May 27th this year, a federal jury ruled in favor of Gibson guitars, upholding their trademarks over their guitar shapes. Dean guitars was found guilty of copyright infringement and counterfeiting the Gibson Flying V, Explorer, ES, and SG body shapes. The jury also found Dean guitars guilty of willfully selling legally constituted counterfeits, and because of that, in regards to Armadillo’s countersuit, it was ruled that Gibson had not interfered in Armadillo’s business and owed them no money. The court also ruled that Gibson’s trademarks were not generic and that they shouldn’t be cancelled, which was another blow to Armadillo’s countersuit. Although, the court did rule that instead of having to pay Gibson seven million dollars in restitution, Armadillo only had to pay four thousand since the court did not think that Gibson suffered any financial damage from the infringements. This ruling is major for Gibson as it allows them to firmly enforce their standards of authenticity and sets a precedent for other cases they may have in the future.