No Infringement Intended: Is My Guitar Pedal a ‘Klone’ or a Counterfeit? Insights on the Intricacies of Trademark Law

For many guitarists, finding the right tone is a lifelong pursuit. It’s the quest for the perfect sound—a sound controlled not only by the guitar or the amplifier but also by the complex chain of electronics connecting them. Central to this are the effects pedals, and few pedals have the same mythical status as the Klon Centaur.

This legendary pedal, built by guitarist and designer Bill Finnegan in the 1990s, was the subject of a recent trademark lawsuit that drew a line between a respectful “klone” (often spelled with a “K”) and an infringing counterfeit.

While many Klon klones have existed in the market, what made this certain pedal the subject of a lawsuit? We’ll dissect the intricacies of trademark law, exploring where homage ends and counterfeit begins.

The Legend of the Klon Centaur

From 1994 to 2000, Bill Finnegan hand-built approximately 8,000 Klon Centaur pedals. He was a gig musician who wanted what other pedals couldn’t provide, which was a “transparent” overdrive.

Unlike pedals that heavily color the guitar’s sound, the Klon was designed to blend the “clean” guitar signal with the overdriven signal. The result was a rich, clear and articulate tone that offered more “headroom” or clarity, thanks in part to an internal charge pump that secretly boosted the voltage.

Finnegan originally sold these pedals for $225. Today, those same units go for several thousands of dollars in the used market.

Intellectual Property and the “Black Box”

Finnegan never filed for a patent on his circuitry, and it is hypothesized that he did so because that would have required him to publicly disclose his notoriously secret design. He chose instead to protect it as a trade secret. He “potted” the circuit board in black resin, making it a “black box” that was impossible to reverse-engineer without destroying the components.

This only added to the pedal’s mythical status because no one could figure out exactly how it worked for several years.

The Klones Emerge

In 2009, an online gear enthusiast successfully removed the potting from a Centaur, traced the circuit, and posted the full schematic online. Key components like the clean signal blend and the germanium diodes Finnegan used were revealed to the public for the first time.

This sparked a new market for klones. Dozens of boutique builders and mass-market companies released their own versions. Many of these pedals adopted the Klon’s signature gold enclosure and reddish-brown knobs as a nod to the original.

One would suppose that consumers in this market are not confused. They know they are buying a clone of the Centaur, not the real thing. Finnegan, for the most part, appears to have accepted the status of this new market.

Litigation Time

In November 2024, the budget-friendly brand Behringer (under its parent company Music Tribe) released a pedal called the “Centaur Overdrive” which was made available for around $70.

This is where Finnegan drew the line and took legal action. According to his lawsuit, Behringer’s product surpassed the standards of “klone”; he deemed it a counterfeit.

The Behringer pedal featured a nearly identical gold enclosure, the same style of brownish-red knobs, and a centaur logo holding a sword. It also notably used the name “Centaur” on the pedal, and the complaint highlighted that the Behringer brand name was absent from the pedal’s face.

A “Cumulative Assault” on the Brand

The core of Finnegan’s lawsuit was the argument that this is a “cumulative assault” on his brand. The complaint effectively admitted that “klones” are a common practice in the industry.

Behringer’s product, however, allegedly crossed the line by copying the mark (Centaur), the logo (the centaur image), and the trade dress (the gold box and red knobs) all at once.

The final straw was Behringer’s marketing. A YouTube video promoting the pedal allegedly referred to it as “legendary” and, most critically, used pictures of Bill Finnegan himself, creating the impression that he was affiliated with or had endorsed this newer, cheaper version.

A Dismissal and a Rebrand

After Behringer changed the pedal’s name to the “Zentara,” added its own brand name to the enclosure, and altered the centaur graphic, the lawsuit was dismissed, and the parties have reportedly settled out of court. The Klon Centaur case shows that, even in a crowded market, distinct branding can still carry legal weight if it remains clearly tied to its source.

This lawsuit zeroed in on the biggest threat to successful brand owners: the full-scale appropriation of a brand. By copying the Centaur name, logo and trade dress all at once, Behringer went far beyond homage and into legal territory it was ultimately forced to abandon.