Elderly music vs. Gibson: leading vintage dealer sued for advertising "Gibson copy".(RETAILER...

THE PRESENCE OF a "Gibson copy" banjo on the Elderly Instruments website has landed the Lansing, Michigan-based retailer in the middle of a lawsuit with Gibson Guitar Corp. In early June, after spotting a banjo on the Elderly website described as a "Gibson Copy," Gibson filed suit against the retailer, accusing it of trademark infringement. A 16-page complaint alleges that the guitar maker immediately issued a cease-and-desist order to Elderly but that Elderly only changed the headline to "Famous Maker Copy" and later to "Classic Bluegrass Banjo Copy." The complaint also asks for