Official Luthiers Forum!

I recently finished building my first resonator guitar. Although it was a little nerve wracking at times I loved it. I've had several people ask if I was going to build some to sell. I would like to do this but I'm wondering if I would be infringing on someones patent. I see a lot of people building resonator guitars on certain sites. are the sound post or sound well design of these
patented? Also what about using my name on them? I'd appreciate any information on these subjects.
geraldj

Gerald - this is a really tricky subject and nobody should offer you legal advice on a forum, nor should you rely on advice from a forum, even from lawyers or legal professionals.

However, a couple of thoughts: You shouldn't use your name on a resonator guitar if your name is Dobro, for example. That one is taken. Do a search on the web, and the http://www.uspto.gov website and see if your name pops up in connection with guitars. If you get nothing, you might be good to go. If you are really going into business, you might ask a trademark lawyer to confirm that there is no problem.

The original resonator guitar patents date back to the 1920's I think, and are long expired. Have there been any improvements or changes since then? If not, it seems likely, like other traditional instruments, that the basic design is in the public domain. See above!

To: Steve Courtright;
Thanks for the input. I realize that a forum is not the best place for legal advice but I thought that someone might be able to steer me in the right direction or perhaps had dealt with this issue before. Before I go too far I would want to check with a lawyer. Like I said thanks for the input. It's nice to find that there are still people who don't treat you like an idiot because you ask a question.(even though it might seem like a silly one)
kgeraldj