Official Luthiers Forum!

No. Aaaabsolutely not!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Heard back from the NFL. Here is what they said:

"Thank you for your interest in the National Football League and the Indianapolis Colts. As you may know, NFL Properties LLC (“NFLP”) represents the National Football League (“NFL”) and its thirty-two Member Clubs for the licensing and protection of their names, logos, symbols, uniform designs, and other identifying marks (the “NFL Marks”).

Unfortunately, we cannot grant you the permission you seek. Absent a formal NFL licensing or business relationship, NFL Marks or materials may not be used in a way that suggests that your product (a) has the endorsement of, (b) is otherwise sponsored or licensed by, or (c) is affiliated with, the NFL or any of its Member Clubs. The NFL has licensing relationships with various companies, including other consumer product companies, and must respect the rights granted to these partners.

We hope that this information is helpful to you. We appreciate your time, consideration, and enthusiasm."

Pretty much what I expected. My client understand and we are going to move in another direction.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

Good on you for doing the due diligence.

If I've learned one thing in law school so far, it's that you never know what they're going to say.

Generally true. But somehow, I was pretty sure about that one.

Regardless, major kudos to Chris for running things to ground. You certainly went above and beyond in an attempt to help your client. That's refreshing and will pay dividends overtime. I'm sure there's some other semi-tacky form of embellishment your client would find an acceptable replacement. (Sorry - I just couldn't help myself ).

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Aaron Craig

LOL, yes, but there's a big difference between having an opinion supported what seems like somewhat valid reasoning, and an absolute guarantee.

I stumbled upon this post looking for this exact info. I have a client that asked for "Nipper" the RCA dog with the Victrola on a banjo peghead. Thanks for the great info! Reassured me that I was right in being nervous about a trademarked logo, even in a one time artistic rendition.

As for the NFL licensing, years ago I worked for a company that did a direct licensing deal with The Patriots. If anyone is interested, the above mentioned "formal NFL licensing" in the reply Chris posted from the NFL cost the company I worked for $50,000. That would be one expensive guitar!

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William Seeders Mosheim
http://www.seedersinstruments.com

This year at the ASIA Symposium Chris Martin was one of the key note speakers. He discussed the headstock shape and said it was trademarked and that it could only be used if Martin was given credit for the headstock.

Yea, the design is so basic that one could make it simply by accident. There's no chance in hell Martin could successfully defend that trademark.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

There is a Martin document that you have to sign to be under agreement with Martin before doing so. No money is involved, just sign the agreement first and then credit the design to Martin.

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David Radlin
http://www.facebook.com/radlin.guitars