From what the picture looks like, it does looks good. I owned one until recently when I got my 4003BB and it was very accurate except for the body contour on the top edge and only having one truss rod. I bought it originally to find out if the shape suited me before shelling out nearly £1000 for the real thing.
The seller did not make the bass, he is merely selling it. It is not being sold as a Rick and the seller did not use Rickenbacker as a keyword. There is not even a mention of Rickenbacker in the auction text. While it is likely that the manufacturer was sued or otherwise blocked by RIC from producing any more copies, it does not make owning or selling (by a third party) the produced instruments in any way illegal. Yes, the shape is trademarked and making copies violates the trademark but that does not mean that legitimate owners are law-breakers.
I believe the catch is that the fakenbackers are included as "counterfeit" items, and eBay won't allow (when they're informed) the listings of "counterfeit" items.
Author: "The Rickenbacker Electric Bass - 50 Years As Rock's Bottom"
Given that, most of the guitars currently offered on Ebay could be pulled. I guess it depends on the definition of counterfeit. To me, the word implies an attempt to deceive - to pass off a fake as the genuine article. That was clearly not the case in the auction in question. On the other hand, a trademark holder has the responsibility to jealously and consistently guard the trademark.
Ted, I used to have the same opinion on this issue too and posted it here on the forum when this issue came up before. Mr.Hall himself gave me the "smack down" in a very informative e-mail stating the legal reasons why NO ONE may sell infringing items for ANY reason.
Yes, I have heard those points myself. JH sometimes suggests the sellers use smaller local channels like the newspaper classifieds to sell fakers. I don't think he is trying to be a nazi but if an item comes to his attention he pretty much has to take action.
If you let one slide, then you can't claim the right to enforce the copyright on another. That's the gist of the law, so RIC clamps down hard & fast on anything that smells like a copy.
They don't really have a choice. And to drop the issue now, after so many years of consistent defense would not make any sense.
Peter, any idea who made the fake 4004? Interesting that it has a binding that goes right through the the coved portion of the top of the body. Perhaps a one-off custom?
Author: "The Rickenbacker Electric Bass - 50 Years As Rock's Bottom"
