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

#124
T-MOST said:
yes, it's not a Fender.
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Well then neither are the MIJ Fender's as they are made by another company in Japan (Tokai maybe or ?)! It's the same thing as ALl-Part and Warmoth, but that company is allowed to put the decal on and Warmoth and All Parts are not.

Fender does NOT own that company in Japan either. They are purely a contractor making the axes to spec, just as Warmoth and All Parts do. As a matter of fact, my All Parts bound and blocked Jazz neck had a little "made in Japan" sticker on it when I got it new. It's prob made in the same plant as the CIJ Fenders. Makes sense. So some of you still say I can't put a decal on it? Puuulllleeeaaassseee!
 
#128
Quadzilla said:
Well then neither are the MIJ Fender's as they are made by another company in Japan (Tokai maybe or ?)! It's the same thing as ALl-Part and Warmoth, but that company is allowed to put the decal on and Warmoth and All Parts are not.

Fender does NOT own that company in Japan either. They are purely a contractor making the axes to spec, just as Warmoth and All Parts do. As a matter of fact, my All Parts bound and blocked Jazz neck had a little "made in Japan" sticker on it when I got it new. It's prob made in the same plant as the CIJ Fenders. Makes sense. So some of you still say I can't put a decal on it? Puuulllleeeaaassseee!
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You can but it will never make it a Fender.
 
#130
I put on on my warmoth jazz - warmoth neck and body - the body is painted Trans Gretche Orange - definitely NOT a fender color - I've played this bass out plenty over the past 5-6 years I've had it and no one's even batted an eye at it - I don't usually sell my instruments, but would give full disclosure about this bass if I ever did.

jazz.jpg
 
#131
Heck, regardless of it being your bass and not an official Fender, it's pretty much a Fender by design so putting your name there, or a Warmoth sticker would look like putting your name in a Ferrari; It's so obvious it's a Ferrari desing that it's not even worth it, like wise it happens with basses as well.
 
#132
Quadzilla said:
and my neck heal does have the word "Fender" on it (licensed by). It's Fender to me bro! The CIJ Fender's are also license by. Same EXACT thing with the exception of one company is allowed to use the decal and the other is not.
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No it's not. Pretending something is a Fender doesn't make it so.

All the license from Fender allows is Allparts, Warmoth and Mighty Mite to manufacture and sell necks with the Fender trademarked headstock shape. Other than the headstock shape there's nothing Fender about them.

CIJs aren't "licensed" they actually are Fenders.
 
#134
Top_Ten said:
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.
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I spoke to a guy at Fender. I wanted a decal for a Mighty Mite neck. He told me it was illegal to put a decal on a neck that wasnt made by them. Just a little FYI.


That being said... Its your bass. Do what you want.
 
#135
-And anyone with a non factory preamp in their Fender bass, better sand down that logo...its not a Fender... Or is it just the neck that makes it kosher?What If I have a factory neck but a warmoth body, do I need to remove the logo? Can I swap tuners on a HWY 1 and still call it a Fender? ..... And why are bass players so damn opinionated? :D
 
#138
WayneS said:
I spoke to a guy at Fender. I wanted a decal for a Mighty Mite neck. He told me it was illegal to put a decal on a neck that wasnt made by them. Just a little FYI.
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I can see why a Fender guy might not want you to do that, but calling it "illegal" may be a bit of a stretch for an individual who is modifying his own instrument.

But it begs the question of when a modified Fender ceases to be a Fender. If you change out the neck, is it no longer a Fender? What about the pickups? The tuners? The knobs? Those strings weren't on it when it left the factory... :D
 
#139
ggunn said:
I can see why a Fender guy might not want you to do that, but calling it "illegal" may be a bit of a stretch for an individual who is modifying his own instrument.

But it begs the question of when a modified Fender ceases to be a Fender. If you change out the neck, is it no longer a Fender? What about the pickups? The tuners? The knobs? Those strings weren't on it when it left the factory... :D
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It would simply be what it is, a Fender neck on a Warmoth body, Fender body with an Allparts neck, a modded Fender with EMGs, things like that.

For example, my current project is a modded Fender Mustang RI with a Paulownia body from Guitar Mill, Gotoh 305 Tuners, aluminum strap buttons, a pair of large dice, 4 screws to fill the mute holes, and Fender skirted amp knobs. Everything else (except the strings) is OEM Fender from the original instrument.

It's not rocket surgery. :)
 
#140
ggunn said:
I can see why a Fender guy might not want you to do that, but calling it "illegal" may be a bit of a stretch for an individual who is modifying his own instrument.

But it begs the question of when a modified Fender ceases to be a Fender. If you change out the neck, is it no longer a Fender? What about the pickups? The tuners? The knobs? Those strings weren't on it when it left the factory... :D
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I'm no lawyer, but given the fact that Fender owns their trademark & that they only distribute decals with that trademark under very specific controlled conditions- the application of the decal isn't the issue. it's the fact that it is likely a counterfeit decal!

It's not illegal to 'customize' your instrument, but by purchasing the obvious bootleg decal- you are directly and knowingly supporting the counterfeiter. Not to mention the future potential of the cloned "Fender" being sold as the real thing. Lets face reality- eventually the instrument is going to be misrepresented. Purposefully or not...

To me, it's just all rather silly. Fender has every right to protect their trademark. It's not just the "corporate big-wigs" that depend on that recognizable trademark either, btw. There are probably hundreds of hourly Fender employees at work right now that (like it or not) take a hit every time their intellectual property gets stolen/bootlegged.

Again, to me, a sticker is a sticker- but perhapse a little thought about who's really benefitting from the sticker might be in order.
 

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