GIBSON PATENT

[jason lollar]

Anyone ever noticed this? Its starting to come around and bite people on the butt.
Patent US5894101 - Single-coil electric guitar pickup with humbucking-sized housing - Google Patents

personally I think its too obvious and should not be patentable- mosrite had interchangeable buckers and single coils as did gretsch.

[Leo_Gnardo]

personally I think its too obvious and should not be patentable- mosrite had interchangeable buckers and single coils as did gretsch.

Obvious & prior art. Strike one & two and besides, doesn't a patent now have a 20 years-from-application sunset? So at most it has @ 2.75 years to run out. So mark your calendars pickup bulders, if big bad Gibson worries you. (At some point the patent period was expanded from 17 to 20 years IIRC, so it's even possible this patent has run its course as of now.)

[John_H]

personally I think its too obvious and should not be patentable- mosrite had interchangeable buckers and single coils as did gretsch.

Absolutely.

[David Schwab]

It seems clear that they haven't gone after anyone who makes P-90 style pickups in humbucker cases. There are an awful lot of them currently on the market.

Humbucker-Sized P-90 Review Roundup | Premier Guitar

[David King]

Well you just gave them the list of who to go after...

[David Schwab]

Well you just gave them the list of who to go after...

They are in that list, so I'm sure they know! I'm quite sure they made their version after others did too.

[Chuck H]

Right! It's the standard Randy Smith (Besa Moogie) move of throwing up a patent to discourage much of the competition. Not even half of what Mesa patented was enforceable and neither is this. The only reason I can come up with for why they give patents on this stuff is that the people policing the applications have no clue what they're dealing with or how to research for prior art.

[Mike Sulzer]

Right! It's the standard Randy Smith (Besa Moogie) move of throwing up a patent to discourage much of the competition. Not even half of what Mesa patented was enforceable and neither is this. The only reason I can come up with for why they give patents on this stuff is that the people policing the applications have no clue what they're dealing with or how to research for prior art.

The only reason companies apply for BS patents such as this is they think they can get away with it, and it does not matter if they fail. With a stiff penalty in place for frivolous patent applications, this would not happen.

[LVS]

Some people patent inventions, and some people invent patents.

[David King]

The patent office is probably underfunded in our efforts to eliminate gvt fraud and abuse. With patent trolls who needs patents anyway? Let the wealthiest among us control intellectual property rights the old fashioned way and then everything will be just dandy.. -not.

[RedHouse]

Anyone ever noticed this? Its starting to come around and bite people on the butt.
Patent US5894101 - Single-coil electric guitar pickup with humbucking-sized housing - Google Patents

personally I think its too obvious and should not be patentable- mosrite had interchangeable buckers and single coils as did gretsch.

Well it's expired now so they can't do much about it.

Patents

"For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, utility and plant patents are granted for a term which begins with the date of the grant and usually ends 20 years from the date you first applied for the patent subject to the payment of appropriate maintenance fees for a utility patent. There are no maintenance fees for plant patents . Design patents last 14 years from the date you are granted the patent. No maintenance fees are required for design patents.

Note: Patents in force on June 8, 1995 and patents issued thereafter on applications filed prior to June 8, 1995 automatically have a term that is the greater of the twenty year term discussed above or seventeen years from the patent grant."

[jason lollar]

its not expired, they made a slight change to it and they have an active patent- I dont post things without reason. sorry I wont say more. Just a heads up for those that advertise or have a website with something like that on it.

[Chuck H]

its not expired, they made a slight change to it and they have an active patent

A slight change? And what sort of "slight change" extends Gibson's patents...

"Hey Joe (patent office guy) this is Dale over at Gibson. Yeah, you know, we could use more time on that patent. That'd really be great. Oh you got the tickets for Sundays game. Good. Alright Joe. Talk to you later. And thanks a million buddy."

[RedHouse]

... I dont post things without reason. sorry I wont say more...

I meant no offense Jason, it's all good.

I was just posting it's expired going by the grant date since it's a non-utility patent.
(14 years max)

[bea]

I do not see why putting a pickup into a slightly oversized enclosure is patentable in any way.
How braindead must the guy be who checked and approved this?