If you thought the controversy that followed Gibson’s notorious ‘play authentic’ video, its lawsuit against Dean and Flying V EU trademark appeal had died down, that’s about to change. Kiesel is now squaring off against the guitar.
The news has surfaced in a video published on Kiesel Guitars’ Instagram channel with company Vice-President Jeff Kiesel said that the company had recently received a cease-and-desist letter from Gibson.
The subject concerns Kiesel’s Ultra-V model and what Gibson claims are apparent similarities to the Flying V.
To have those bozos try to tell us we can’t make it anymore when it looks literally nothing like it… I mean, come on guys…
Kiesel adds: “I named the Ultra V, so I think it was about ’86 when it came out, I was seven years old, so it’s an exceptional model to me.
The California Single was launched in 2006, the year after the ruling in the infamous 2005 PRS vs. Gibson case, which ended up the favor of PRS and its Singlecut design.
“We have to give a letter back to them, but we’ll let them know that, ‘Hey, if you need to go ahead and sue us, that’s okay,’ Jeff Kiesel explains.
“It’s not a battle they’re going to win, and we’re not going to back down. Because at the end of the day, we have logic and facts behind us; they have nothing. They just have pure emotion.”