Gibson’s ‘Baseless’ Trademark Claims Run Into Antitrust Wall

A federal judge slapped down Gibson Brands Inc. for bringing a trademark claim to an antitrust fight, highlighting the varied lenses through which two very different areas of law address unfair dominance of a market.

Heritage Guitar Inc. convinced a Michigan federal court that Gibson’s counterclaims accusing Heritage of infringing its iconic Les Paul guitar shape were “objectively baseless.”

Gibson brought the shot-down counterclaims after Heritage asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief against allegations of trademark infringement laid out in a series of cease-and-desist letters from Gibson. Heritage later amended its complaint with allegations that Gibson was violating ...