Behringer appears to be trying to grab a number of classic synth product names and applying for registered trademarks for themselves. In a separate development, Roland has recently registered the iconic 808, amongst others, as a trademark to protect their product names and designs, we have the details…

It Started With One…

Synth Anatomy first found that Behringer had submitted a trademark application for the name MONOPOLY in the EU & USA, and suggested this would mean that a Behringer clone of the Korg Mono/Poly Synthesizer is on the way. However, after further research, they have found that Behringer has applied for more trademarks of synth product names including, Blue Marvin, Kobol, Polykobol, Polivoks, Synthex, Trident, Quadra, Source, Prodigy, Logan, Pro-16, and Pro-800.

However, this isn’t the first time Behringer has tried to register vintage synth product names as trademarks. Back in 2017, they applied to register the Oberheim OB-Xa as a trademark of their own however, it would appear they never followed through on it.

There is no doubt of Behringer’s direction of travel. We have already seen evidence in the ARP 2600, Quadra, Synthi, Solina, LinnDrum as well as the UB-Xa Oberheim clone.

More recently on November 19th 2019, Behringer released a clone of the Wasp, which Behringer are calling the Wasp Deluxe. The original was considered to be the first truly portable analog synthesizer, but was somewhat temperamental.

Then on November 25th 2019, Behringer announced the Poly D: a polyphonic 4-voice Minimoog, which is a 4 oscillator analog synthesizer where you can use it a 4-oscillator monosynth, a 2-voice/2-oscillator unison synth or a single oscillator per voice 4-voice polysynth.

Roland Register TR-808 and TB-303 Designs

In a bizarre turn to this story, back in January 2019, German site sequencer.de discovered that Roland had filed for trademark protection in Germany for the designs of the TB-303 and TR-808. Apparently, what they applied for was the design of the actual appearance of the 303 and 808 – the signature layout of the keyboard and knobs of the 303, and the sequence of coloured buttons on the 808.

Although there is no direct link between Roland’s action and Behringer’s actions, one would have to ask why Roland has now chosen to take steps to protect their intellectual property decades after the original products were released?

Behringer’s View On Intellectual Property

Back in 2018, Uli Behringer, having recently been accused of suing a Dave Smith Instruments employee and threatening legal action against a Chinese website that criticised his company’s product design strategy, issued a lengthy defence (which you can read in full on CDM) covering not only these issues but also various rumours and claims made about about Behringer throughout its history.

As part of this lengthy response, discussing what he called “the misconception surrounding IP [intellectual property]” Uli Behringer’s view was that…

“technology is free for anyone to use unless it is protected”.

Referring to his company’s product development strategy, Uli said…

“One needs to be clear about the distinction between blatantly copying someone else’s product and the principle of reverse engineering. Copying a product 1:1 is clearly illegal, however reverse engineering is something that takes place every day and is accepted as part of a product development process known as benchmarking.”

He claims that Behringer has only ever lost one court case relating to a patent dispute - to Aphex, about 30 years ago.

“Since the Aphex case we have been sued several times and we equally had to sue competitors over infringement of our IP. This happens in every industry and is part of a fierce and competitive landscape.”

Behringer goes on to say that he is…

“a big believer in free speech and welcomes any form of constructive criticism, as this is the only way for us to learn and improve. We also don’t mind any comments made or language used by individuals as this is a matter of personal choice.”

Adding…

“It becomes sensitive when incorrect or defamatory statements are made by competitors and the media. While there is free speech, words do have consequences and since we are all bound by the law, the rules should be applied equally to everyone. Once again, I understand that people have their opinions and preferences and I fully respect that. I also understand that some people don’t like me or our company, and chose not to buy our products which I respect, too.”

You can read the full statement on CDM.

What Next?

Based on their track record we can assume that Behringer will be releasing more synths based on these products. In fact, the ARP 2600 clone is already underway with various leaks been posted including this detailed article by Synth Anatomy.

What Do You Make Of Behringer’s Position?

Do you agree with Behringer’s view that “technology is free for anyone to use unless it is protected” or do you feel that is out of order? Are you looking forward to the new vintage synth clones that will be so much more affordable than the vintage originals? Do share your thoughts in the comments section below…

Want To Know More About Some Of The Products behind These Names…

Korg Mono/Poly

Behringer’s application has lost the forward-slash between “Mono” and “Poly” of the original Korg Mono/Poly synthesizer but there cannot be any doubt what they are referring to. The Korg Mono/Poly was a 4-voice, 4-VCO paraphonic synthesizer with a shared filter, VCA and envelope. Built between 1981 and 1984 is was a favourite of Vince Clark who said: “It’s like playing 4 cheap synthesizers at once”.

Polivoks

Taking a look at these names, Polivoks was a Soviet brand, (also occasionally referred to as the Polyvox; Russian: Поливокс) who produced a duophonic, analog synthesizer and was arguably the most popular and well-known Soviet synthesizer in the West, due to the uniqueness of both its appearance and sound.

The original synths are now changing hands for a lot of money and so a number of clones have been produced including Latvia-based Erica Synths who provide a range of DIY kits for Polivoks-inspired modules in Eurorack modular synthesizer format. and The Harvestman manufactures Eurorack modules Polivoks clones which have been designed in collaboration with the original Polivoks designer Vladimir Kuzmin.

Kobol And PolyKobol

Most serious synth geeks consider the PolyKobol (and yes, there was a mono predecessor called simply the Kobol) the ultimate unattainable in synthesizers. Moreso than a perfect Yamaha CS-80. Moreso than an Elka Synthex. Moreso than a Gleeman Pentaphonic with the clear plexiglass housing.

Unique for the PolyKobol's era was the ability for oscillators to morph between waveforms in real-time. Today, we take for granted the idea that the "waveform" knob can be a modulation destination, but in the early 1980s, Wolfgang Palm's PPG was the only other manufacturer to be implementing anything similar in a polyphonic "slab" synth -- albeit in a very different way i.e. the digital domain with wavetable oscillators. The RSF PolyKobol, by contrast, is fully analog.

It had the well-known temperature-induced issues with stability, but one in good shape is truly something special.

Elka Synthex

The Elka Synthex was a polyphonic analog synthesizer produced by Italian music instrument manufacturer Elka from 1981 to 1985.

The Synthex was an 8-voice analog synthesizer with 2 oscillators per note, separate envelope generators, and chorus. The use of stable DCOs (digitally controlled analog oscillators) and oscillator cross-modulation of pulse width and a multimode filter made it unique in its time. Unusually, the Synthex also contained a built-in real-time and step-time 4-track monophonic sequencer with realtime transposition. The four different sequencer tracks can have different length and sounds (Upper/Lower can be allocated to different tracks).

Korg Trident

The Trident was a polyphonic and programmable instrument with three independent sections - Synthesizer, Brass, and Strings, released in 1980. It features 8 voices of polyphony and two of the instrument sections can be played simultaneously while in Split Keyboard mode.

The Trident mkII version released in 1982 had doubled the memory (32 patches), an independent envelope generator for the VCF (filter) section and more. The specifications listed are for the mkII since it is the more popular and common of the two. The Tridents sound very nice, warm and analog and have been used by Rick Wakeman, Joe Zawinul and Phoenix.

ARP Quadra

The ARP Quadra was a 61 key analog synthesizer produced by ARP Instruments, Inc. from 1978 to 1981. The machine combined pre-existing products: the Omni, Odyssey, a Solina-esque string synthesizer unit, a phaser and a divide-down organ with ADSR envelope, and a 4075 24 dB low pass filter into one box. A string section was similar to the ARP Omni. Poly Synth, and a two-voice Lead Synth similar to the Odyssey and a five-way mixer with four unit outputs, a stereo pair, a line mono and an XLR out.

Moog Prodigy

The Moog Prodigy was a monophonic analogue synthesizer produced by Moog Music from 1979 to 1984. Of the 11,000 produced, versions released after 1981 included a control voltage/gate input on the back that allowed the VCF to be triggered and controlled by an external source. These later versions began at serial number 4610. The official model number of the instrument is 336. 336A would indicate a domestic (US) model, while a 336BX would indicate an export unit.

It inspired the name of British electronic band The Prodigy whilst recording their first album. The band's frontman, Liam Howlett, is known to have used the synthesizer in some of the songs he made in the early 1990s.

ARP 2600 (Blue Marvin)

There were three basic versions of the ARP 2600. The first, dubbed the "Blue Marvin", was housed in a light blue/grey metal case with a keyboard that mated to the synthesizer, and was assembled in a small facility on Kenneth Street in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts, during ARP's infancy as a company. Later ARP 2600s used vinyl covered wood construction with metal corners for both the synthesizer and keyboard making it a more durable and portable instrument.

Finally, in order to fit in with the black/orange theme of ARP's other synthesizers, the ARP 2600s were manufactured with orange labels over a black aluminium panel. The mid-production grey 2600 models featured many changes amongst themselves. Changes in circuitry and panel lettering provided at least three different grey panel models.

Alan R. Pearlman provided synthesizers to well-known musicians, such as Edgar Winter, Pete Townshend, Stevie Wonder, Joe Zawinul, and Herbie Hancock, each in exchange for his endorsement as a professional user.