arturia synthi

[fmr]

I think it might be moot with Synthi though - I expect their application will be rejected.

So, you are expecting an explosion of "Synthis" in the market?

I wonder why nobody cared till now

[OneOfManyPauls]

You have a knack for twisting what has been said so that you can present an argument to make yourself feel smart.

[ChamomileShark]

I agree Berhinger tends to be a bit of a lightening rod. But in my mind hardware is different from software and so software emulations are, no matter how good, are not the same as hardware. Their sheer physicality distinguishes them.

Arturia, although I may have this wrong, I think have largely steered clear of emulating things that were in production. The Buchla music box is the only one I can think of that is in production.

[OneOfManyPauls]

To be clear, software emulations are part of the landscape.

It's Arturia staking a claim over the actual names of the original hardware (DX7, SYNTHI etc) that raised my eyebrows compared to the norm of of going with something like "repro" or "legend". It begs the question as to their motive for doing so as there are obligations that come with holding a trademark - like protecting it.

[ChamomileShark]

It raised my eyebrows too - I didn't realise that was what you were specifically commenting on.

The DX7 is no longer in production, but the Synthi is.

[OneOfManyPauls]

even if not in production, it's still an "interesting" move to appropriate the existing goodwill like that.

[fmr]

To be clear, software emulations are part of the landscape.

It's Arturia staking a claim over the actual names of the original hardware (DX7, SYNTHI etc) that raised my eyebrows compared to the norm of of going with something like "repro" or "legend". It begs the question as to their motive for doing so as there are obligations that come with holding a trademark - like protecting it.

There is no such "norm". It's a marketing strategy, as simple as that. It will be easier to catch someone looking for a Prophet if they have a product called Prophet V than it is if what they have is a product called RePro. Of course, this implies allocating resources to legal stuff, resources that smaller companies don't have or are not willing to allocate, therefore those companies choose the easier path, which is finding a name close enough to be recognizable without being legally problematic.

Arturia strategy was, since the beginning (Moog Modular V) to use names that are exact matches of the originals. One of the reasons they didn't go with the Matrix-12 after the Moog Modular V was because they weren't authorized by Gibson (which was the owner back then) to use the name. That's why they went with the CS-80 instead.

They were forced to drop the Jupiter-8 name, after having Jupiter-8 in their portfolio for some years (now it's called Jup-8), because Roland decided to went software themselves, and claimed the name (after years probably silent). They also were forced to change the Minimoog and Moog Modular names to just Mini and Modular, due to the expiration of the contract established with Moog Music.

So, it's natural that they now seek to protect themselves about the names they use, because:

a) They want to use the exact names of the products they are emulating;

b) It's very damaging to a business to be forced to change the name of a product that's already in the market.

c) If it is true that Arturia is trying to register the name Synthi for software, that's probably because they already reached an agreement with the owner of the EMS assets in order to do so. As they surely did (the opposite is unbelievable to me) with the Buchla owners.

Strictly business.

[OneOfManyPauls]

I'd think most any company doing an emulation would like to just use the exact name without having to worry about licensing, legal costs or negative perception.

Trademarks are a double edged sword though - they've made declarations and have obligations. Like I said, I expect the Synthi mark application to fail, but I can't imagine Yamaha is best pleased with that DX7 mark.

[ChamomileShark]

c) If it is true that Arturia is trying to register the name Synthi for software, that's probably because they already reached an agreement with the owner of the EMS assets in order to do so. As they surely did (the opposite is unbelievable to me) with the Buchla owners.

Strictly business.

I don't think they have come to an agreement with the owner of EMS. That may now happen ..or they may put in an objection.

[OneOfManyPauls]

When going down that route, it's normal to get a license to use someone else's trademark [registered or common law] - not to acquire a trademark in your own name.

Note they don't have a tm on anything to do with the buchla and they do acknowledge they have permission in the user manual to use the name. Not seen anything like that with the DX7 V.