On July 9, The U.S. Court of Appeals in the 5th circuit granted a full reversal of their decision in the Dean Guitars and Gibson Brands case.
Long story short, Dean lost a lawsuit filed by Gibson in May 2019 for infringement upon Gibson’s Flying V, Explorer, ES and SG body shapes; on their “Dove Wing” headstock design; and both the the “Hummingbird” name and the “Moderne” trademark.
Armadillo countersued in 2020, saying Gibson was engaging in “tortious interference with Armadillo’s business relationships and/or contracts.” There was a whole lotta legal back and forth and then yesterday happened.
Now Gibson has issued a statement on the matter, requesting that all appellate judges reconsider the panel decision, and stating that they’re confident in the retrial.
“Yesterday, a 3-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the Gibson v Armadillo case for retrial. The Court of Appeals found that the District court allegedly abused its discretion in excluding certain evidence. Gibson will be requesting all the appellate judges reconsider the panel decision. Gibson is confident that the Texas Judge and jury got it right the first time.
“Gibson’s guitar body shapes are iconic, and it will continue to protect them to preserve its legacy which is critical to protect partners, dealers, artists and fans around the world.
“Gibson, like other iconic American brands, has invested in meaningful research, development and innovation over 130 years, and is confident that in a retrial the jury will again find in favor of affirming Gibson’s well recognized intellectual property rights, rights that have been Gibson’s for decades.”
