Even then, it's two different situations. Ibanez way back did make very close copies to Gibson and Fender guitars - as did (and many still do) most manufacturers. [U]BUT[/U] they always said 'Ibanez' on the headstock, and didn't pretend to be Gibsons etc.

The Ibanez guitars (mostly from China) on ebay more often than not are total rip offs - they even have the J Craft decal on the back of the headstock and a fake serial number that fits the Ibanez convention. They say Ibanez on the headstock - making them counterfeit as opposed to derivative....

A friend of mine bought a Paul Gilbert copy, and when he got it home the fake 'f' holes came off - they were bad stickers... and the fret edges were sharp enough to injure... and loads of people never get them at all - $5 guitar with $300 shipping... they only have to refund the purchase price, so make money conning people out of the shipping.

:mad: