New all-tube wah-wah by Roger Mayer apprentice

[ytbufflo]

This thread is scarily close to advertising, which I dont like at all.

Please feel free to discuss gear, but easy on the hard sell please....

I appreciate the offers and flattery, but when I also saw this in the BUY/SELL/TRADE it just started to feel a little advertiser-y....

Thanks.
-Joel the big jerk

I was surprised that you didn't have a flat-out ban on manufacturers discussing ANYTHING on this forum. I read all the rules I could find and all that seemed to pertain was the requirement that manufacturers admit clearly that's what they are.

I will play by whatever the rules are, but as a newbie, the rules just weren't clear to me.

I have contacted John, Andy and Hillary about reviews/advertising in Tape Op, but it's a kinda slow process. All I am is some guy with some plexiglass, some wire, and a pretty good idea. On top of that, I have been diagnosed with stage four carcinoma, so my clock is probably ticking faster than yours. I need to get these out there somehow.

[Submersible]

A guy back in the '70's made a wah that was essentially all transistor with a tube stuck somewhere in the middle. He actually refuses to post sound files. But he DID trademark the name "Tube-Wah" He has already threatened me with w lawsuit for merely having the words "tube wah" on my site.

The mark is not registered in the US--I checked. I doubt such a descriptive name would be registerable, anyway. I think he's bluffing you. You might want to talk to an attorney. In any event, you shouldn't be prevented from telling your customers in generic terms exactly what you're selling: a tube wah wah pedal.

[ottokbre]

I was working with the Toob-Wah, so she started crawling all over it. That snake-proof thing is not totally a joke. Big snakes try to crush practically everything they encounter. The Toob-Wah survived w/o a dent.

I wonder if Fender has ever thought about that kind of product testing.

[ytbufflo]

The mark is not registered in the US--I checked. I doubt such a descriptive name would be registerable, anyway. I think he's bluffing you. You might want to talk to an attorney. In any event, you shouldn't be prevented from telling your customers in generic terms exactly what you're selling: a tube wah wah pedal.

Wow! Thank you VERY much. But, geez, do I feel like a dope. I never even checked his claim. I have seen some heavy-hitter DIY gurus defer to him in forums like he was totally legit. HA! that really is LOL. How did you do your search? I've been looking aroiund for his name and his old emails, but I might have lost them when I changed servers.

I figured I'd wait til he sued me and then kick his ass in court. The name IS way too generic/descriptive, like trying to register "car" rather than 'Chevrolet". But the folks at the Patent Office can make some uninformed decisions, so his claim didn't seem THAT far fetched.

But I have to abide by the same laws he does. I can't really register "tube wah" either. I have to have a "Chevrolet" trademark myself. The Phatoob name came about because I used to hang out at an audio engineers forum where a certain contingent teased me mercilessly about my obsession with the "phat" sound of tubes. Pretty soon they were refering to me derisively as "Toob". Didn't take me long to trademark THAT puppy.

[Submersible]

Wow! Thank you VERY much. But, geez, do I feel like a dope. I never even checked his claim. I have seen some heavy-hitter DIY gurus defer to him in forums like he was totally legit.

You can do some basic searching at: http://www.uspto.gov (including searching for the owner's name). Keep in mind that it IS possible to build common law (unregistered) trademark rights by using a trademark in commerce--assuming it's trademarkable to begin with. Again, I recommend getting legal advice from an attorney before making any decisions!

[ytbufflo]

Again, I recommend getting legal advice from an attorney before making any decisions!

Thank you. I do take this very seriously. There's an atty here in the area who wrote the Nolo book Patent it Yourself. I am hoping to see him this week.