Maker of Trump guitars reportedly sent cease and desist order by Gibson
(NEXSTAR) — Last week, President-elect Donald Trump unveiled his latest business venture: signed “Make America Great Again” guitars selling for as much as $11,500. They may not be available much longer, since Gibson has accused the guitar’s maker of ripping off their own design.
Trump showed off one of the guitars in a Truth Social post last week, touting it as a “limited edition ’45’ guitar” that can be purchased online. The body of the guitar features an eagle and an American flag, with “Make America Great Again” printed down the neck.
According to the website dedicated to the guitars, the most expensive option — an $11,500 autographed electric guitar — has sold out. Unsigned versions, selling for $1,500, have also sold out. As of Wednesday, a $1,250 acoustic guitar and a $10,250 version that has been autographed by Trump are still available. Additional electric guitars — coming in black, gold, and red — are also available, as are two “God Bless the USA” options.
Reports, however, indicate guitar maker Gibson has issued a cease and desist order against the maker of Trump’s guitars, 16 Creative, claiming its electric guitar offering infringes on Gibson’s trademarks. In particular, citing Gibson spokespersons, Guitar World and Billboard report Gibson believes the Trump guitars have copied the body shape of its Les Paul design.
Gibson did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for comment.
The website selling the guitars does have a “notice of non-affiliation and disclaimer” as of Wednesday: “GetTrumpGuitars.com is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Gibson Brands Inc., or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates, nor does it represent itself as a dealer, manufacturer, or distributor of Gibson, Les Paul Standard, Les Paul Custom, or any of their products.”
The same notice can be found on the website’s FAQ page and on the individual listings of the electric guitars. Archived screengrabs of the site show that message did not appear until Wednesday.
As The Hill previously reported, all of the guitars, according to the sales page, were “custom designed and developed by a Veteran owned company with the help of a master luthier.”
“These guitars have been manufactured by multiple providers and include parts/features that are both domestic and international. This is standard with most guitar manufacturers,” the site also explains on its FAQ page.
The Trump Organization has not yet commented on the cease and desist letter.
On Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said more than 3,000 fake Gibson guitars had been seized after they were intercepted arriving by ship in ocean containers from Asia.