What Klon’s lawsuit against Behringer means for the pedal copy market

Pedals mimicking other famous pedals and amps have been a cornerstone of the gear market, but Klon’s fight against Behringer’s “counterfeit” might skew things…

Klon has filed a lawsuit against budget-pedal makers Behringer for its Centaur Overdrive, and the firm has presented a strong case for “blatant copyright infringement.” Pedal imitations are no new phenomena, but this one feels different and could send shockwaves through the industry. 

The Klon Centaur is one of the worlds most sought after pedals. Bill Finnegan’s infamous three dialled overdrive pedal is still crafted by hand to this day and sold on eBay – but the likelihood of another build showing up on there is slim, and it’s gone before the dust on the listing has settled.

That’s led to prices on the second-hand market reaching nosebleed-inducing figures. For many, it’s the holy grail of pedals, even if Finnegan doesn’t quite believe the $10,000 price tag. And as the chance of the everyman guitarist getting the chance to own one of these lauded pedals slims, the copy market grows.

Klon copies are so common that Guitar World even has a dedicated Best Klon Copies page on its website. Everyone’s invited to the party too – big brands (MXR and Wampler) and big players (Joe Bonamassa) through to small boutique brands are all getting involved. But this is the first time that Klon has taken legal action. So what’s changed?

Klon vs Behringer

From Finnegan’s vantage point, Behringer’s Centaur Overdrive oversteps the mark. In the legal documentation he’s published online he says the pedal is “not just another clone but instead a blatant counterfeit of Klon’s legendary pedal.”

His argument: “Nearly every element of the Centaur trade dress,” is copied, from the gold colouring to the unmistakable centaur logo and there’s no sign of the Behringer logo anywhere to be seen. Beyond that, the promo video “extensively discusses” the Klon while “deceptively” showing its own version as it does, essentially trying to cash in on the Klon’s history and reputation for its own ends.  

This isn’t just a pedal inspired by the Klon, it’s cosplaying as it is with a complete disregard for the trademark.

Until now, Finnegan has accepted that, because he’s made a product so sought-after, it will be copied. That’s just how the world works. But, until now, no company has cut this close to the bone.

A bridge too far

There are some other obviously name pedals out there. JHS’ Notaklön is just one tongue in cheek example, but the difference is that the pedal looks completely different, there’s a degree of separation to the pedal, and it’s coy when alluding to a “mythical pedal” that it gets its cues from. It’s presented in a way a band might say their music is ‘for fans of’ rather than simply saying ‘we’re Slipknot’.

Then there's Warm Audio Centavo Professional Overdrive, a very well-respected Klon copy. One look at it and you know what the pedal is meant to be. Sure, it cuts close to the bone, it has a similar colour and also a centaur logo on the face of the pedal, but that's a unique sketch, its WA logo is slapped on there too, and the Centavo, while a little on-the-nose, does enough to sneak past the 'taking the piss' police.

The lack of a Behringer logo on the pedal feels like a big one.

“Unlike nearly every other pedal currently shown on the Behringer website, the counterfeit Centaur does not include the Behringer mark on the face of the pedal,” the document says, “despite there being ample space for it.”  

Hell, even Behrigner’s Fuzz Bender pedal, another blatant copy of the ‘60s Tone Bender circuit beloved by Eric Clapton and the likes, had its name on it. This compounds Klon’s argument of deception. It almost wants to trick people into thinking they’re getting the real thing – like when you see knock-off football shirts (soccer for our American readers) in dodgy markets. It’s the sort of thing that would never pass in a proper shop.  

Give it some thought

The thing is, this could have been easily avoided. It could have just been given a slightly different looking enclose and called something close-but-not-close-enough like the Minotaur, and all would have been fine.

Ultimately, it feels like a lazy cash grab. Where other firms are putting great care and imagination into their Klon copies, or even experimenting with the recipe like the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe did by adding more tone-tweaking dials.

The news of the lawsuit has only just broken but I’ve already seen plenty of “it’s just Behrigner beign Behringer” comments online. But that insinuates that it’s fine because it always does it – shouldn’t the reaction by the opposite.

It copied the famed MU-Tron III pedal earlier this year, and once more, Musictronics' looks were very closely copied. In response, the original device makers called it out for similar antics.

“This $2 billion company has assimilated the history of Musitronics as if it was their own,” it said. It didn’t file a lawsuit, but it could have. With Klon taking action, Behringer’s cheekiness may well have caught up with them.

What next?

What happens next hinges on the result of the lawsuit. If Klon wins, or Behringer agrees to an out-of-court settlement figure – which would signal defeat from Behringer – other pedal companies may be left twitching. A legal triumph could give Klon the confidence to go after the other pedals that copy one too many answers of its homework for its liking.

The more likely outcome, however, is that it will send a stark message to Behringer and its marketing strategies. The lawsuit is unlikely to be the end of the firm, but a big payout would clip its wings and force it to reassess how it designs and markets its pedals. 

Another thing a Klon victory could spark is a domino effect. If Behringer is found of wrongdoing with its Centaur Overdrive, then Musitronics might feel it can take on the financial risk of a similar case. The Klon verdict would give its argument more weight, and the firm more confidence to do so. There will doubtless be other firms watching proceedings with a keen eye, well aware they’ve suffered likewise.

Ultimately, I feel it will send a warning to all firms chancing their luck with how far they can push their copies. It’s highly unlikely that it will put an end to copies altogether, but it may well alter a lot of attitudes around how these pedals are made, designed, and marketed in future.

It’s one to keep an eye on.