Is it wrong to put fender decals on a warmoth neck??

[jaywa]

The OP has made his mind up to do it, so whatever.

Personally I would leave it blank and let people think it was some super high-dollar custom job, but if he wants it on, that's how it will be.

But to claim there are no copyright implications is flat-out not true. Those logos are Fender's property whether people want to acknowledge that or not.

 

[Bassmickeyd]

Since it is 'your' bass and unless you're planning to sell it I'd suggest finding a guy who makes decals to do one up in your own name or TB handle name.
I've got two basses that read Bassmickeyd on the headstock. And one of them is a 63 Fender p-bass neck that was cut into the shape of a Tele headstock.
Plus replacement Fender decals don't come with the Patient numbers listed below them so it's easy to see a fake one.

 

[Vic Winters]

Fender does not lose at all in this situation.

Original bass was a Fender. Therefore, Fender got payed.

Replacement neck is licensed by Fender. Therefore, Fender got payed again.

Fender didn't make the physical logo. While they made no money from it's sale, they also incurred no loss from it's sale.

Fender logo = advertisement for Fender. Again Fender makes money from this.

 

[ggunn]

But to claim there are no copyright implications is flat-out not true. Those logos are Fender's property whether people want to acknowledge that or not.

I don't think so. IANAL, but I don't think copyright laws apply in this case. If you are a lawyer, feel free to correct me.

What I would do is get a Warmoth decal and a Fender decal and cut them together so that it says "Fendoth" or Warmder".

 

[hover]

Get a decal that says "Fender licensed parts bass" and you're all set. I think if you maintained the script styles it would look a-ok.

 

[sevenorchids]

I'm not a lawyer, but...

Copyright infringement, I don't think so. Trademark Infringement, probably.

They are different.

Now, if you try to sell it as a Fender product, that's just plain Fraud. If you plan to keep it, that's not fraud, as there is no injured party.

 

[Mr. Ray]

I'm not a lawyer, but...

Copyright infringement, I don't think so. Trademark Infringement, probably.

They are different.

Now, if you try to sell it as a Fender product, that's just plain Fraud. If you plan to keep it, that's not fraud, as there is no injured party.

"Copyright" is an umbrella term which includes intellectual property, patents and trademarks.

Getting back to reality this is a bass forum, not a legal forum..but those logos are Fender's property.

Ask yourself this... why doesn't Warmoth sell or apply Fender logos on their necks?

None of the other Fender "licensed" manufacturers supply Fender logos.

With a little simple reasoning I think you can come up with the "correct" answer.

 

[Turock]

why are you assuming im doing it to rip someone off?? i already said it wouldnt be sold on nor serial numbered??

Planning on living forever? Gonna have it buried with you?
It's your bass, be a poser if you want to.

 

[smcd]

It's not a matter of copyright infringement or legality or whatever. Putting a Fender decal on a non-Fender product is, well... gay.

It's like putting a Harley Davidson logo on a Honda. People who do it are boobs. So don't do it. If you want a bass with a Fender logo on it, buy a Fender.

 

[bucephylus]

It's the wrong thing to do.

Forget copyright infringement etc etc. The real deal is that with the Fender decal this gets sold a couple times and eventually to some unsuspecting parent who is not a bass player and just trying to get something for their kid or to some newbie who can barely afford it and doesn't know better, and they get taken to the cleaners. Sorry, its not a Fender.

But, then these days no one really wants to know what the right thing to do is. They just want to do whatever the heck feels good.

Its a stupid thread and stupid question unless you're Beavis or Butthead.

All IMVHO.

 

[Elmo Oxygen]

My Irish friend (County Cork) would say the proper Irish thing to do would be to take your mate to the pub, get pissed, head-but him until he's bleeding, then use his bloody head to write a big red "F" on the headstock.

 

[ggunn]

"Copyright" is an umbrella term which includes intellectual property, patents and trademarks.

Getting back to reality this is a bass forum, not a legal forum..but those logos are Fender's property.

Ask yourself this... why doesn't Warmoth sell or apply Fender logos on their necks?

None of the other Fender "licensed" manufacturers supply Fender logos.

With a little simple reasoning I think you can come up with the "correct" answer.

I am quite capable of even not-quite-so-simple reasoning, thank you very much, but it doesn't take much of it (or a law degree, either) to conceptualize the vast gulf of difference between "Warmoth selling or applying Fender logos on their necks" and a guy putting a Fender decal on his only partially Fender guitar. I seriously doubt that he is any danger whatsoever of being sued by Fender.

 

[Vic Winters]

For those who can't read.

IT'S A FENDER BASS. The body is a Fender, the neck was changed to a Warmoth. That's it. He isn't adding a serial, he isn't selling it.

 

[DougD]

I'm not a lawyer, but...

Copyright infringement, I don't think so. Trademark Infringement, probably.

They are different.

Now, if you try to sell it as a Fender product, that's just plain Fraud. If you plan to keep it, that's not fraud, as there is no injured party.

+1
But this subject has been done to death. No amount of reasoning is going to sway either side of the argument.
This is the #1 reason that I will never buy a used Fender.

 

[RBrownBass]

...In all honesty though, I'd just keep the neck blank that way you don't have ignorant guitards and drummers walking up and looking at your neck to see if it's American or whatever.... it's a rant but nothing ticks me off more than that. No one gives my Bongo that kind of treatment or an Ibanez that treatment but a Fender immediately gets the lurking stare to determine place of manufacturer.

Been there. It's almost like a disease they have, isn't it?

...I freely tell anyone who's interest what parts, if any, are Fender, Warmoth, Seymour Duncan or whatever. I do it because I like the way it looks, because people (unfortunately) listen with their eyes and I don't sweat it because Fender has put a lot worse than Warmoth parts under their logo for years.

Absolutely. That said, I don't think either of the above situations should cause someone to put a Fender logo on the instrument- if they want to do it, wanting to is reason enough. As long as they don't try to sell it as a Fender while they're alive (people die. No one here has any business using an after-the-owner's-death case to argue against his putting a Fender logo on the headstock), that's good enough for me.

But I wouldn't do it. In part because it's just not what I'd do (tho I have replaced the late 70s style post-2003 logo with a pre-2003 logo on my Highway One neck- Fender went out of their way to change that for some reason and it had no business being on a dot/unbound neck), and in part because of...

Warmoth = Upgrade

The kid should be thanking him.

^^^
This.

 

[RustyAxe]

You already knew the answer before you posted the question. Go ahead ... put it on ... you'll feel better, won't ya?

 

[RustyAxe]

Funny thread. OP asks for an opinion, and then lambasts anyone who doesn't see eye to eye with him.

 

[Turock]

As long as they don't try to sell it as a Fender while they're alive (people die. No one here has any business using an after-the-owner's-death case to argue against his putting a Fender logo on the headstock), that's good enough for me.

Well, if it's good enough for you, I guess that settles it.

 

[RandomMisfit]

I wouldn't put a fender decal on there. Not because I think its copyright infringement, or lame or anything like that, but because Warmoth parts are MUCH better than fender parts (IMO/IME) and when I build my warmoth parts bass later this year I plan on adding a Warmoth decal. I would be proud its a warmoth!
to me, it would be like putting a Squier decal on a MIA fender. . .

 

[Top_Ten]

"Copyright" is an umbrella term which includes intellectual property, patents and trademarks.

Um, no, it's not. Copyrights, patents and trademarks are three distinct types of intellectual property, and different laws apply to each of them. The issue with the Fender decal is a trademark issue, not a copyright issue.

Merely applying a Fender decal to your own bass is not trademark infringement. If you sold the bass with the Fender decal, that would be trademark infringement.