Counterfeit Guitars Seized

[fronobulax]

WaPo which may be behind paywall.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/06/21/these-guitars-struck-wrong-note-with-us-customs-border-protection-officers/

And WTOP

Sour note: 85 counterfeit guitars seized during customs bust at Dulles - WTOP News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized some 85 counterfeit guitars at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

wtop.com

Instruments coming from China and seized. Customs determined trademark violations. Acoustics and electrics with destinations in various states, so this may have been headed to consumers and not dealers, but we don't know. Guild was not mentioned. Angus Young, Slash and Les Paul "signatures" contributed to the valuation.

 

[chazmo]

Wow, that's quite a bust. If I were Gibson or Martin I'd be hopping mad! Anyone spot any fake Guilds? I don't see any.

 

[HeyMikey]

Great news. Probably just a drop in the bucket, but still good to see none the less.

 

[chazmo]

That's probably true, Mikey. Y'know I thought we had problems here with forgery Guilds, but nothing like the big guys!

 

[GGJaguar]

Would make for a good episode on the old "Dragnet" TV show.

 

[fronobulax]

I often get Facebook ads that offer me what appears to be a genuine name brand guitar for $99. I report them as scams but they tend to resurface. Instruments are shipped directly from China. Never seen a faux Guild offered.

Someone counterfeiting US currency has a choice of faking $20 or $100 bills. The chance of detection is similar so maximizing the ill gotten gains means faking $100's. Guild is the $20.

 

[F312]

Hope they've caught them all.

 

[fronobulax]

Hope they've caught them all.

Explain?

 

[SFIV1967]

Customs at Dullas Airport seems to be specialists for fake guitars, we had discussed the earlier find here and here back in February:

Customs agents seize $158k worth of counterfeit guitars, including fake Gibsons, Fenders and Martins, at Washington DC airport

The 36 fake axes include a Jimmy Page double-neck, Ace Frehley Les Paul and signed Slash electric

www.guitarworld.com

Ralf

 

[SFIV1967]

Instruments are shipped directly from China. Never seen a faux Guild offered.

Tons of them available. Bad copies mostly.



Directly available from Alibaba and others...

Professional Solid Acoustic Guitar Jumbo Gf50 Vintage Style Natural Guilds Guitar Free Shipping - Buy Guilds Acoustic Guitar,Acoustic Guitar,Guitar Product on Alibaba.com

Professional Solid Acoustic Guitar Jumbo Gf50 Vintage Style Natural Guilds Guitar Free Shipping - Buy Guilds Acoustic Guitar,Acoustic Guitar,Guitar Product on Alibaba.com

www.alibaba.com

Or any other Chinese souce:

[Hot Item] Ksg 6 Strings F50 Solid Top Jumbo Guild Acoustic Guitar Glossy Natural Finish Guild Acoustic Electric Guitar

Model NO.: guild acoustic guitar Body Material: Rosewood Neck Material: Mahogany Fingerboard Material: Rosewood Finish: The Same as Pics Show Size: 41"

guitar-china.en.made-in-china.com

315.0US $ |43 Inches Red 6 Strings Guild Acoustic Guitar Jumbo F50 Acoustic Electric Guitar Free Shipping Guild Electrical Acoustic Guitar - Guitar - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

And they have fake Guild labels like that "F-512":

349.0US $ |Factory 12 String Gloss Black Jumbo F512 Acoustic Guitar Solid Guild Type Guitars - Guitar - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Lots of Brian May Guild copies are available from them as well...It's just terrible.

China Made Brian May Red E Gitarre 24 Bünde Bmg Special Antique Cherry 3Electric Features Tremolo Bridge Von 327,38 € | DHgate

Finden Sie die Top-china made brian may red e-gitarre 24 bünde bmg special antique cherry 3electric features tremolo bridge bei DHgate heraus. Schnelle Lieferung und garantierte Einsparungen. Fangen Sie noch heute an!

de.dhgate.com

Glad that customs pays attention and at least fishs some of those counterfeits out of packages sent to customers!

Ralf

 

[fronobulax]

Tons of them available. Bad copies mostly.

Point noted. I guess I should have distinguished between faux Guilds that are being offered to me via targeted advertising and faux Guilds that are available if I go looking

 

[F312]

Explain?

Hope they have caught "all the fakes" through customs seizures without any slipping through.

 

[walrus]

Good for Customs!

IMO, the fakes will keep on coming, like spam in your email...

walrus

 

[dreadnut]

Question: If these guitars were being labeled and sold as "reproductions" would that make a difference?

 

[fronobulax]

Question: If these guitars were being labeled and sold as "reproductions" would that make a difference?

Probably not. The "reproductions" used patented, trademarked and/or copyrighted elements. The owners of that intellectual property have not licensed the use. It is not clear whether Customs seized the instruments "just in case" or whether there were complaints filed with a request for enforcement but they were seized.

Honest reproductions (which of course, is your question) are labeled as such and do not violate intellectual property laws. But just because I call something a reproduction doesn't mean it is actually a legal reproduction. The intellectual property owner makes that decision by explicitly licensing material or enforcing their rights.