Fender has laid down the gauntlet in its protection of the Stratocaster body shape, sending a cease and desist to a US firm, ordering it to stop production of its S-style electric guitars.
As per documents obtained by YouTubers Phillip McKnight and Tone Nerd, Fender sent the cease and desist letter via its lawyers, Bird & Bird, to a small family-run guitar company based in the US, LsL Instruments.
According to Fender, the outcome of the case – launched against a Chinese manufacturer – gave the firm the legal right to “protect its designs in global commerce”.
It established the Stratocaster as a "copyrighted work of art” based on “original creative expression”, and any firms operating or selling Stratocaster-inspired guitars in the EU were believed to be at risk of falling afoul of the ruling.
However, at the time, the ramifications of the ruling were unclear, and it wasn’t fully understood just how extensively Fender could, and would, enforce the case that came out of the Regional Court of Dusseldorf.
In a press statement, Fender warned that “offering infringing products for sale into Germany or other countries of the EU is sufficient to establish liability, regardless of where a manufacturer or seller is based”.
Now, it seems Fender has pressed on with its legal campaign in the EU and beyond.
“Subject of this letter is your offer of products which infringe the copyright of our client’s Fender Stratocaster guitar,” an example of the Bird & Bird cease and desist letter, as shown by McKnight, reads.
“We insist that you immediately stop manufacturing, selling, marketing, or producing such infringing products.”
According to McKnight, who was given copies from different sources, the letter also demands the recipient recall all the guitars it has sold in the EU and destroy them.
LsL Instruments is the first firm to have publicly confirmed it has received such a letter. It has has since set up a GoFundMe page to help finance its legal costs, stating that it needs financial support to defend itself against Fender and ensure its survival.
“We are a small electric guitar company facing a legal challenge that could reshape the industry,” LsL Instruments writes. “The body design of S style guitars was never copyrighted by Leo Fender, whose only interest was in retaining the headstock shape.
“Recently, Fender Musical Instruments won an uncontested default decision in Germany, claiming the S style guitar body design is a protected work of art,” it continues. “This threatens not only our business, but also the future of S style guitars for builders and players across the European Union.
“As a small business, we simply cannot afford the legal fees required to defend ourselves against a corporation the size of Fender. We need attorneys in both the US and European Union, and without your support, we would be forced out of business, unable to respond to the demands being made.
“The outcome of this case could set a precedent, impacting countless other builders and musicians who rely on the freedom to create and play the instruments they love.”
The impact of this development has already been felt across the industry, setting a precedent for further action from Fender in its bid to seemingly remove S-style guitars and Stratocaster clones from the market.
It now seems that the EU ruling is set to be used as a benchmark, as Fender escalates its legal campaign in the US and beyond. To that end, McKnight states Fender has declared "war with [the] guitar industry".
Indeed, LsL Instruments is allegedly just one of multiple US builders to have received a cease and desist from Bird & Bird, and it remains to be seen how other prominent builders of S-style guitars will be affected – and how successful Fender's attempts to remove S-style instruments from the market will be.
As such, eyes will be on the likes of PRS, Harley Benton, Suhr, Anderson Guitar Works and many more, as the Silver Sky and other fan-favorite guitars look to navigate what is becoming an increasingly volatile situation – one that could eventually target popular household S-style models.
Whatever happens, the decision to enforce the EU-based ruling on US builders marks a huge development in the case, and the outcome of such legal battles could very well reshape the guitar industry as we know it.
Fender has been approached for comment.