Fender is trying to ban other manufacturers from using their classic guitar model

The Stratocaster, which entered the market in 1954, is the world’s most popular electric guitar model, which has been used by, among others Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughan and domestic callers Albert Jarvinen and Esa Pulliainen.

The Stratocaster differs in design from other classic electric guitar models, such as the Gibson Les Paul and Fender Telecaster, as its body is beveled for a more ergonomic playing position. The guitar also stays balanced and in a natural position when hung from the strap on the shoulder.

Countless manufacturers have been making guitars of the same model for decades. Now Fender has demanded that some US guitar manufacturers stop making Stratocaster-style guitars and destroy the finished guitars that have not yet been sold.

It tells about it, among other things The Wall Street Journal.

The letter of demand has been received by PRS, which makes popular Stratocaster-type guitars, but also by some small US instrument manufacturers with low production volumes.

Requirement has drawn strong criticism from guitar manufacturers. Fender has previously tried to protect the design of its more than 70-year-old model with a trademark. The last time this happened was in 2009. At that time, other guitar manufacturers opposed the project because the model had become common, and numerous manufacturers had used it in their production for decades.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office agreed, and rejected the Fender company’s application. The model and shape of the Stratocaster has previously received trademark protection only for the shape of the top of the guitar.

Now Fender is trying again and appealing to the intellectual property rights of its product. The German court, which resolved the dispute between Fender and a Chinese instrument manufacturer at the end of last year in Fender’s favor, has been considered the inspiration for the project. The Chinese counterpart did not appear at the trial.

According to the decision, the Stratocaster model is a work of art.

Guitar maker and board member of the Finnish Instrument Builders Guild Juha Ruokangas says that the requirement pushed by Fender could be a precedent, if implemented, that would target small manufacturers in particular. Up until now, the big instrument manufacturers have mostly protected their model names, and therefore Stratocaster-style guitars have been allowed to be manufactured and sold without being named Stratocaster.

Chinese online stores have also sold guitars made by Fender as Stratocasters, which are not genuine but fakes.

“The guitars we make are not direct copies, but derivatives of these archetypes of electric guitars,” says Ruokangas.

Ruokangas Guitars is Finland’s largest manufacturer of electric guitars, but even its production is less than a hundred instruments per year. The company sells most of the guitars directly to customers in different countries without a sales network.

Ruokanka thinks that the decision made in the German court is strange, because he thinks that the Stratocaster is not the company’s founder’s Leo Fenderin created by an art object, but a tool designed by the cooperation of several people.

“The changes that have been made to the classic guitar shape are functional. It’s ergonomic design is ingenious, and that’s why it’s so widespread,” says Ruokangas.

“Not even a spanner can be shaped in an infinite number of ways.”

Fender’s According to Ruokanka’s assessment, the underlying cause of the actions is also concern about the development of guitar sales.

“During the Corona years, they did well, and now maybe they want the growth to continue. Over the past 20 years, the market for electric guitar-driven mainstream music has been shrinking as a whole,” says Ruokangas.

Also a PhD specialist in copyright Daniel Jongsma Hanken considers Fender’s requirement particularly problematic for small manufacturers.

“They can’t afford to pay court costs, which get very high,” says Jongsma.

Musicians and there has been speculation among small instrument manufacturers that Fender’s actions will damage the reputation of the company and its products.

In Finland, no impact on the demand for Fender products has been seen so far. Fenders are sold in both Helsinki’s Guitar Workshop and DLX Music as before, even though the company’s requirements have been discussed.

In addition to Fenders, DLX’s selection also includes PRS’s Stratocaster-type Silver Sky model, which has been among the best-selling electric guitar models in the world in recent years.

“It’s not a one-to-one copy, but rather looks the same. Drawing a line in this matter will be challenging”, DLX Music store manager Mikko Kejonen says.

According to Kejonen’s experience, Fender’s old reputation has been strong until now.

“For many players, it is important that the Stratocaster guitar says Fender and not some other name,” says Kejonen.

When going public in the comment Fender admits their claim has attracted a lot of attention. According to the company, there have been misunderstandings on social media. According to the comment, Fender does not want to prohibit others from making two-horn electric guitars, as long as they differ “sufficiently” in design from the Fender Stratocaster.