Classic rock fans may readily associate the name Gretsch with the late George Harrison’s Beatlemania-era “Duo Jet” electric guitar, a design reproduced as a limited-edition controller for The Beatles: Rock Band video game.  However, it is another Gretsch guitar design, associated with an even earlier rock pioneer, that is the subject of a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.

On October 24, 2012, Fred W. Gretsch Enterprises, Ltd. (“Gretsch”), based in Pooler, Georgia, sued New York-based Loog Guitars LLC (“Loog”) in the Savannah Division, regarding claimed rights to a rectangular guitar body. 

Embodied in at least its G5810 Bo Diddley model, Gretsch’s registered rectangular guitar design is shown below.  U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2,357,459 (“the ‘459 Registration”) states that “the dotted lines are not a feature of the mark, but serve to indicate the position of the mark.”  Yet the “delineation,” if you will, between what is dotted and what is solid is somewhat unclear if one looks only at the drawing in the ‘459 Registration (below left).  An examination of the drawing that Gretsch submitted with its trademark registration application (below right) more clearly distinguishes between the dotted and solid lines of Gretsch’s guitar body design.  The ‘459 Registration does state that “the mark consists of a rectangular configuration of a guitar body.”


Drawing in Gretsch’s ‘459 Registration (left) shown beside drawing in trademark registration application (right).

Discussing its design, Gretsch states: “Beginning in 1958, the Gretsch company supplied a rectangular Gretsch guitar to rock legend Bo Diddley, who famously used that guitar in his subsequent public performances.”  Gretsch further alleges: “In 1999, Gretsch reintroduced the classic Gretsch rectangular guitar, which has been continuously sold to the public since that time.”  The ‘459 Registration issued on June 13, 2000 and identifies Gretsch as the registrant.  “The Rectangular Guitar Trade Dress,” alleges Gretsch, has become widely known in the guitar industry, and the purchasing public has come to recognize its distinctive shape as an indicator of a Gretsch guitar.”

The accused Loog I guitar, as shown an Loog’s website, is depicted below.

Loog I guitar

The Loog I is a 3-string acoustic guitar that, according to Loog’s website, “makes it fun and easy for kids to play music.”  The guitars are shipped in unassembled form pursuant to the website’s stated philosophy that “[b]uilding a guitar is an essential part of understanding and loving the instrument.  When you build your own guitar you develop a deep connection with it, and that is why the Loog guitar ships unassembled for parents and children to build at home.”  Further explaining its product in its “About Us” section of its website, Loog states: