Photo Credit: Trump Guitars
Gibson wastes no time in hitting Trump Guitars with a cease and desist for their resemblance to Les Paul's body design.
Ever on-brand, Donald Trump is champing at the bit to endorse a plethora of gaudy new official (and unofficial) merchandise to capitalize on his recent win and forthcoming return to the White House. To that end, he recently endorsed a collection of Americana-laden Trump Guitars. But, equally on-brand, Gibson wasted no time slapping the product line with a cease and desist for their resemblance to the popular guitar brand's recognizable Les Paul body design.
Trump endorsed the guitars on November 20, posting a picture of himself holding one on his social media platform, Truth Social. The guitars, the website for which proudly states “the only guitar officially endorsed by President Donald J. Trump,” feature inline pearl lettering on the necks of the guitars that spell out messages like “Make America Great Again,” “God Bless the USA ,” or “Donald J. Trump.”
Some of the guitars are even signed by Trump, which brings their price tags up to as much as $11,500. But despite his endorsement and his name and face being plastered all over the marketing, the company is thought to belong to a third party — not Trump himself — owned by a parent company called 16 Creative.
“We can confirm a cease and desist has been issued against 16 Creative,” Gibson representatives told Guitar World. “The design infringes upon Gibson's exclusive trademarks, particularly the iconic Les Paul body shape.”
Gibson is well known in the guitar world, not just for its products, but for being quick to defend its intellectual property. The company is still in an ongoing legal dispute with instrument brand Dean over body and headstock designs, and they recently partnered with US Customs and Border Protection to seize over 3,000 counterfeit guitars.
Whether 16 Creative and Trump Guitars will heed the cease and desist is unclear. Currently, the first edition of its American Eagle Electric Guitar is listed as sold out, and the company is accepting pre-orders for its “Presidential Series,” which also uses a similar Les Paul body design.