Uhh, is Emmons back?

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

The original wood neck Emmonses, numbers 1164007 and 1164008 (and maybe others, but those are the only two I've personally owned), had tailpieces without the milled lip, and shorter pillow blocks bolted directly to the neck on the same plane as the fretboards.

The milled lip didn't come until 1965 at the earliest.
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Paul Redmond · From: Illinois, USA

The late Charlie Ward had acquired the rights to the push/pull design. When he died some years ago, he still owned those rights.
PRR

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Who owns the name: "Emmons"?
I know that the Jackson's sold the name: "Sho-Bud".
Erv

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

Patrick Huey · From: Nacogdoches, Texas, USA

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

There is no need to purchase something that has expired. Rolling Eyes

Erv

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Remember 20-some years ago, when Rick Aielo (spelling?) came out with "Rickenbacher"-style horse-shoe magnet re-issue pickups and got an unfriendly "cease and desist" invite from Rickenbacker's lawyers arguing that while the patent was long expired, there was Trademark infringement because their pickups' LOOKS had become their trademark look (they continued making "horseshoe"-pickups where the horseshoe wasn't the magnet anymore?

I doubt anybody would make the case with the Emmons... the Emmons LOOK has been copied by many steel manufactures for decades already.

But Erv, asked about the "Name" and that, as I understand was â„¢ & Â® and acquired by the new Emmons Co.

... J-D.
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Was it JFK who said: Ask Not What TAB Can Do For You - Rather Ask Yourself "What Would B.B. King Do?"

A Little Mental Health Warning:

Tablature KILLS SKILLS.
The uses of Tablature is addictive and has been linked to reduced musical fertility.
Those who produce Tablature did never use it.

I say it humorously, but I mean it.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Yes,
A trademark or a copyright can be renewed over and over again but when the time runs out on a patent, it's over. Very Happy

Erv

J D Sauser · From: Wellington, Florida

Jerry Jones · From: Franklin, Tenn.

Here's a screen shot of the original patent. I believe at that time the patent term was 17 years from issue date, so been in the public domain for many years.

CLICK HERE

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Jerry Jones

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

In the case of the "Horseshoe Pickups" that Rick made, I believe that the main issue was that he could make them, but he could not call them "Horseshoe Pickups", as that's covered by a "trademark copyright". Trademark copyrights last as long as the original item is still in continuous production, and that can be a very long time. (Even longer than music and written material copyrights, which have a minimum of 70-90 years now.)

Also, there are different types of patents; a "utility patent", and a "design patent". A utility patent covers and describes how an item is made and how it functions, and that patent has a life of 20 years. A design patent covers and describes how an item looks. The caveat here is that the design's uniqueness must be "visible and obvious during during the item's general use." Since what makes a push/pull changer different is largely hidden in the cabinet of the guitar, a design patent could not be issued. (That's probably a moot point, anyway, because the term for a design patent is shorter...only 15 years.)

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