LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities mentioned greater than 3,000 pretend Gibson electrical guitars shipped from Asia have been seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection brokers on the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection mentioned in a press release that had the guitars been genuine, they’d have been value $18 million. The company mentioned Gibson confirmed the guitars that have been intercepted have been counterfeit.
Gibson, based in 1894 and based mostly in Nashville, Tennessee, has the highest market share in premium electrical guitars. All its guitars are handcrafted in Nashville and Bozeman, Montana.
“These fraudulent guitars could feel and appear professional for unsuspecting customers shopping for them from third-party on-line sources, avenue markets, unauthorized retailers, and person-to-person transactions,” mentioned Cheryl M. Davies, CBP director of subject operations in Los Angeles. “As we method the busy Holiday buying season, customers ought to concentrate on the place they’re shopping for these items and the way a lot they’re paying, and if is simply too good to be true it most likely is.”
Gibson guitars have been such a fixture in music historical past that rock-and-roll visionary Chuck Berry was laid to relaxation together with his instrument, blues musician B.B. King affectionately named his “Lucille,” and rock guitarist Eric Clapton borrowed one from George Harrison to play the solo on the Beatles’ track “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
“This is actually emotional and private for us not solely due to the safety of our gamers however due to our Gibson crew at giant, together with the artisans at our craftories in Nashville, TN and Bozeman, MT, who’re generations of American households which have devoted their whole lives to handcrafting Gibson devices,” Beth Heidt, chief advertising officer at Gibson, mentioned in a press release.
Authorities introduced the seizure Tuesday however did not say when the guitars have been taken, which nation they got here from, or who made them.
The investigation involving the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is ongoing.
Violating mental property is a felony, leading to a $250,000 wonderful and 10 years in jail.
