Funko, makers of Funko POP, is being sued by Gibson over unauthorized use of their guitars in their popular line of rock figurines.

According to Law360 and Metal Injection, Gibson alleges Funko’s figurines of such famous guitar players like Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Kiss’ Paul Stanley, and Metallica’s James Hetfield are wielding guitars in their likeness in the figurines, and that constitutes unlawful usage.

According to Gibson, this would lead to consumer confusion or deception, and that consumers may assume the Funko figurines are “unauthorized products are made directly by Gibson.” Gibson further states Funko was contacted in October 2017 for a retroactive license, but the deal was never completed.

“The misuse of the Gibson trademarks by Funko was intended to cause, has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, consumer confusion, mistake or deception including the misleading of consumers into mistakenly believing that the defendant’s unauthorized products are made directly by Gibson pursuant to Gibson’s strict quality control standards or Gibson has authorized or licensed the use by Funko of the Gibson trademarks for those products.”

What I see as humorous is the fact that Gibson states consumers would be confused as to who is creating these figurines. Unless you have been living under a rock recently, we all know how popular Funko is and they are the sole creators of the small figurines that have taken over pop culture since 2010.

Unfortunately for Gibson, proceeding with the lawsuit would only further the decline in the company’s growth as a guitar manufacturer. Amongst the musician community, Gibson’s lack of innovation and descension in quality have caused guitar sales to plummet, putting the company in debt which many feel it will not be able to recover from.

Suing Funko may just be the final attempt by Gibson to try and salvage the company that’s been in business since 1902.