Gottlieb® History
Gottlieb Development LLC, a New York limited liability company, is the successor to the proud Gottlieb® pinball tradition begun in 1927 and continuing to the present day. Through use of the famous trademarks, Gottlieb®, D. Gottlieb & Co.®, and Premier®, Gottlieb Development has kept alive the vaunted Gottlieb® memories of earlier times, while adapting the brand to the new technologies of today.
D. Gottlieb & Co. was established by David Gottlieb in 1927 as an arcade game corporation. It produced primarily pinball games, but also produced various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and, eventually, under its successors, video arcade games as well. During World War II the company geared up for war production, as did so many other companies recruited to the fight for freedom.
Like some other manufacturers of the day, D. Gottlieb & Co. first made mechanical pinball games. Then, starting in 1935, it produced electromechanical games. In 1947, D. Gottlieb & Co. was the first company to incorporate flippers on the pinball playfield to give the player more control over the play of the game. To this day, in many other countries pinball machines are known as “flippers.” The flipper feature is what makes a pinball machine a pinball machine.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Gottlieb® brand was known as the Cadillac of pinball machines. It was the “premier” mark in pinball. In keeping with the changes in technology, D. Gottlieb & Co. switched over to solid state or electronic machines starting in the late 1970s
In 1977, Columbia Pictures Industries acquired D. Gottlieb & Co. from the Gottlieb family. In 1983, after the Coca Cola Company had acquired Columbia, the pinball assets of D. Gottlieb & Co. were transferred to a new Coca Cola subsidiary, Mylstar Electronics. Mylstar manufactured video games as well as the Gottlieb® pinball machine.
In 1984, after only a short period of ownership, Coca Cola sought to divest itself of Mylstar. Potential buyers were approached, but in a down cycle for coin-operated machines in general, the newly formed video game division faded into oblivion.
For Gottlieb® pinball, however, it was renewal and rebirth. A newly formed company, Premier Technology, purchased Mylstar's pinball assets in October 1984. Premier Technology had two partners, Gottlieb Electronics Corporation and Embassy Electronics Inc. Gottlieb Electronics Corporation was a subsidiary of Mondial International Corporation, which was the largest distributor of Gottlieb® machines in the world. The other partner was Embassy Electronics Inc., a corporation controlled by Gilbert G. Pollock, a former member of Mylstar’s management team.
Premier Technology continued the Gottlieb® pinball machine tradition. From its creation in 1984 through cessation of operations in 1996, Premier Technology’s principal product was the classic commercial coin-operated mechanical action pinball machine produced under the Gottlieb® trademark. Premier also sold spare parts and other items under the Gottlieb® trademark. Annual sales during the peak years of the early 1990s were in excess of $30,000,000.
Premier Technology had two factories. Its factory in Bensenville, Illinois (near Chicago) had upwards of 300 employees in a 62,000 square foot facility, which had been expanded to over 80,000 square feet with the addition of mezzanines over part of the facility. The other factory had approximately 20,000 square feet in West Fargo, North Dakota, and employed as many as 100 people. The factory in West Fargo manufactured wire harnesses not only for Gottlieb® pinball machines, but also for other electronic equipment produced by other companies.
Premier Technology continued in operation until the summer of 1996, when adverse financial circumstances forced the company to close its doors. Premier Technology avoided bankruptcy and was able to sell all its assets, including the Gottlieb Marks, to Gottlieb Development for the benefit of Premier Technology‘s creditors.
Gottlieb Development is the owner of the trademarks, Gottlieb®, D. Gottlieb & Co.®, and Premier ®, USA nos. 1403592, 2292766, and 3288024 (and other numbers throughout the world), related copyrights, and other associated intellectual property, including, but not limited to, artwork, trade dress and designs, all pertaining to Gottlieb® pinball products (collectively the “Gottlieb Marks”). Since acquiring Premier Technology’s assets in 1996, Gottlieb Development has continued the Gottlieb® tradition, primarily through licensing of the Gottlieb Marks to various persons involved in the pinball industry.
As documented on the Internet Pinball Database, www.ipdb.org, over 600 different Gottlieb® pinball or pinball-type games were produced from 1927 to the present day. Individual specimens of virtually all of these models are still extant in the hands of collectors. Pinball collectors are currently the principal customers of Gottlieb® pinball items, all sold through Gottlieb Development’s licensees.
From 1996 to May 1998, Gottlieb Development continued the sale of Gottlieb® spare parts, first from Premier Technology’s former premises in Bensenville, Illinois, and then from Springfield, New Jersey.
In May 1998, Gottlieb Development entered into a license agreement with Steve Young, of The Pinball Resource, 8 Commerce Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. Gottlieb Development granted Mr. Young the exclusive right to reproduce spare parts for Gottlieb® machines, subject to Gottlieb Development ’s strict quality control standards. Mr. Young is known among pinball machine collectors as THE person to go to for pinball parts from any era and for any brand. Mr. Young sells Gottlieb®-branded product throughout the world.
Over the years Gottlieb Development has licensed the reproduction of Gottlieb® pinball backglasses. In the United States, Gottlieb Development has licensed Shay Assad as well as Ron and Nancy Webb to manufacture reproductions of Gottlieb® backglasses, primarily from the 1950s through the 1970s. In Canada, Gottlieb Development has also licensed Classic Playfield Reproductions to produce backglasses and playfields for Gottlieb® machines.
Our licensees have produced novelty machines based on the Gottlieb® pinball theme. These include a SpongeBob video pinball machine 21st Century Productions, LLC, based in New York and a “retro” version of the Gottlieb® King of Diamonds pinball machine, originally produced in 1967, from Retro Pinball LLC, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Gottlieb®’s successful entry into the personal video game market began in 1998, when Gottlieb Development entered into a license agreement with Microsoft to produce Pinball Arcade, a pinball video game for personal computers. Pinball Arcade transformed classic Gottlieb® machines to the personal computer screen. Pinball Arcade offered one classic Gottlieb® game from each of seven decades: Baffle Ball (1931), Humpty Dumpty (1947), Knock Out (1950), Slick Chick (1963), Spirit of 76 (1975), Haunted House (1982), and Cue Ball Wizard (1992).
That positive experience led to an association with Farsight Studios of Big Bear Lake, California, who licensed Gottlieb® games for use on the Game Cube, Xbox, PSP 2, Wii and similar video game platforms under the name “Pinball Hall of Fame.” Farsight has created a physical engine that perfectly replicates the random interaction of the pinball and its mechanical playfield onto the computer monitor. Farsight has now transferred that experience to an online site, www.pinballarcade.com, offering play on such Gottlieb® classics as Haunted House, Black Hole, and Cactus Jack.
Gottlieb® and D. Gottlieb & Co.® may not be the oldest trademarks in the world, but they are certainly two of the few that have remained in continuous use for almost 90 years. These marks, along with the newer Premier® trademark, form the foundation for Gottlieb Development’s business. Gottlieb Development values the Gottlieb Marks and spends a substantial portion of its revenue on legal fees to maintain and protect its trademarks. We believe that as technologies continue to develop, Gottlieb Development will remain at the forefront, bringing entertainment to future generations of pinball enthusiasts.
Robert A. Fesjian, Manager
Gottlieb Development LLC
October 11, 2015
D. Gottlieb & Co. was established by David Gottlieb in 1927 as an arcade game corporation. It produced primarily pinball games, but also produced various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and, eventually, under its successors, video arcade games as well. During World War II the company geared up for war production, as did so many other companies recruited to the fight for freedom.
Like some other manufacturers of the day, D. Gottlieb & Co. first made mechanical pinball games. Then, starting in 1935, it produced electromechanical games. In 1947, D. Gottlieb & Co. was the first company to incorporate flippers on the pinball playfield to give the player more control over the play of the game. To this day, in many other countries pinball machines are known as “flippers.” The flipper feature is what makes a pinball machine a pinball machine.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Gottlieb® brand was known as the Cadillac of pinball machines. It was the “premier” mark in pinball. In keeping with the changes in technology, D. Gottlieb & Co. switched over to solid state or electronic machines starting in the late 1970s
In 1977, Columbia Pictures Industries acquired D. Gottlieb & Co. from the Gottlieb family. In 1983, after the Coca Cola Company had acquired Columbia, the pinball assets of D. Gottlieb & Co. were transferred to a new Coca Cola subsidiary, Mylstar Electronics. Mylstar manufactured video games as well as the Gottlieb® pinball machine.
In 1984, after only a short period of ownership, Coca Cola sought to divest itself of Mylstar. Potential buyers were approached, but in a down cycle for coin-operated machines in general, the newly formed video game division faded into oblivion.
For Gottlieb® pinball, however, it was renewal and rebirth. A newly formed company, Premier Technology, purchased Mylstar's pinball assets in October 1984. Premier Technology had two partners, Gottlieb Electronics Corporation and Embassy Electronics Inc. Gottlieb Electronics Corporation was a subsidiary of Mondial International Corporation, which was the largest distributor of Gottlieb® machines in the world. The other partner was Embassy Electronics Inc., a corporation controlled by Gilbert G. Pollock, a former member of Mylstar’s management team.
Premier Technology continued the Gottlieb® pinball machine tradition. From its creation in 1984 through cessation of operations in 1996, Premier Technology’s principal product was the classic commercial coin-operated mechanical action pinball machine produced under the Gottlieb® trademark. Premier also sold spare parts and other items under the Gottlieb® trademark. Annual sales during the peak years of the early 1990s were in excess of $30,000,000.
Premier Technology had two factories. Its factory in Bensenville, Illinois (near Chicago) had upwards of 300 employees in a 62,000 square foot facility, which had been expanded to over 80,000 square feet with the addition of mezzanines over part of the facility. The other factory had approximately 20,000 square feet in West Fargo, North Dakota, and employed as many as 100 people. The factory in West Fargo manufactured wire harnesses not only for Gottlieb® pinball machines, but also for other electronic equipment produced by other companies.
Premier Technology continued in operation until the summer of 1996, when adverse financial circumstances forced the company to close its doors. Premier Technology avoided bankruptcy and was able to sell all its assets, including the Gottlieb Marks, to Gottlieb Development for the benefit of Premier Technology‘s creditors.
Gottlieb Development is the owner of the trademarks, Gottlieb®, D. Gottlieb & Co.®, and Premier ®, USA nos. 1403592, 2292766, and 3288024 (and other numbers throughout the world), related copyrights, and other associated intellectual property, including, but not limited to, artwork, trade dress and designs, all pertaining to Gottlieb® pinball products (collectively the “Gottlieb Marks”). Since acquiring Premier Technology’s assets in 1996, Gottlieb Development has continued the Gottlieb® tradition, primarily through licensing of the Gottlieb Marks to various persons involved in the pinball industry.
As documented on the Internet Pinball Database, www.ipdb.org, over 600 different Gottlieb® pinball or pinball-type games were produced from 1927 to the present day. Individual specimens of virtually all of these models are still extant in the hands of collectors. Pinball collectors are currently the principal customers of Gottlieb® pinball items, all sold through Gottlieb Development’s licensees.
From 1996 to May 1998, Gottlieb Development continued the sale of Gottlieb® spare parts, first from Premier Technology’s former premises in Bensenville, Illinois, and then from Springfield, New Jersey.
In May 1998, Gottlieb Development entered into a license agreement with Steve Young, of The Pinball Resource, 8 Commerce Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603. Gottlieb Development granted Mr. Young the exclusive right to reproduce spare parts for Gottlieb® machines, subject to Gottlieb Development ’s strict quality control standards. Mr. Young is known among pinball machine collectors as THE person to go to for pinball parts from any era and for any brand. Mr. Young sells Gottlieb®-branded product throughout the world.
Over the years Gottlieb Development has licensed the reproduction of Gottlieb® pinball backglasses. In the United States, Gottlieb Development has licensed Shay Assad as well as Ron and Nancy Webb to manufacture reproductions of Gottlieb® backglasses, primarily from the 1950s through the 1970s. In Canada, Gottlieb Development has also licensed Classic Playfield Reproductions to produce backglasses and playfields for Gottlieb® machines.
Our licensees have produced novelty machines based on the Gottlieb® pinball theme. These include a SpongeBob video pinball machine 21st Century Productions, LLC, based in New York and a “retro” version of the Gottlieb® King of Diamonds pinball machine, originally produced in 1967, from Retro Pinball LLC, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Gottlieb®’s successful entry into the personal video game market began in 1998, when Gottlieb Development entered into a license agreement with Microsoft to produce Pinball Arcade, a pinball video game for personal computers. Pinball Arcade transformed classic Gottlieb® machines to the personal computer screen. Pinball Arcade offered one classic Gottlieb® game from each of seven decades: Baffle Ball (1931), Humpty Dumpty (1947), Knock Out (1950), Slick Chick (1963), Spirit of 76 (1975), Haunted House (1982), and Cue Ball Wizard (1992).
That positive experience led to an association with Farsight Studios of Big Bear Lake, California, who licensed Gottlieb® games for use on the Game Cube, Xbox, PSP 2, Wii and similar video game platforms under the name “Pinball Hall of Fame.” Farsight has created a physical engine that perfectly replicates the random interaction of the pinball and its mechanical playfield onto the computer monitor. Farsight has now transferred that experience to an online site, www.pinballarcade.com, offering play on such Gottlieb® classics as Haunted House, Black Hole, and Cactus Jack.
Gottlieb® and D. Gottlieb & Co.® may not be the oldest trademarks in the world, but they are certainly two of the few that have remained in continuous use for almost 90 years. These marks, along with the newer Premier® trademark, form the foundation for Gottlieb Development’s business. Gottlieb Development values the Gottlieb Marks and spends a substantial portion of its revenue on legal fees to maintain and protect its trademarks. We believe that as technologies continue to develop, Gottlieb Development will remain at the forefront, bringing entertainment to future generations of pinball enthusiasts.
Robert A. Fesjian, Manager
Gottlieb Development LLC
October 11, 2015