A large shipment of what was believed to be Gibson electric guitars was seized at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport due to a run-in with the law.
US Customs and Border Protection agents seized 3,000 fake Gibsons guitars shipped from Asia, leaving American customers stuck playing air guitar.
Cheryl M. Davies, CBP's director of field operations in Los Angeles, explained the sting in a statement cited by AP news. “These fraudulent guitars can look and feel legitimate to unsuspecting consumers who purchase them from third-party online sources, street markets, unauthorized retailers and person-to-person transactions,” she warned. “As we approach the busy holiday shopping season, consumers should pay attention to where they're buying these goods and how much they're paying, and if it's too good to be true, it probably is.”
Gibson, founded in 1894, is one of the most popular guitar brands in the world. All of her instruments are made in Nashville and Bozeman, Montana. The company's chief marketing officer Beth Heidt released a statement about the forfeiture, saying in part, “This is really emotional and personal for us not only because of the protection of our players, but because of our Gibson team as a whole, including the artisans at our Nashville, TN and Bozeman, MT craftsmen who are generations of American families who have dedicated their lives to crafting Gibson instruments.”
AP News reports that there is an ongoing investigation to find the creator of the fake axes, and that intellectual property violations could result in a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison. Anyone in charge might want to learn how to play “Jailhouse Rock” quickly.
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