Is Fender Threatening Anyone Who Makes Strat-Shaped Guitars?

OA1268 - Patents, trademarks, and copyrights, ach mein! How did the Fender Stratocaster, a guitar that has been in continuous manufacture since 1954, Suddenly become the subject of an intellectual property dispute? Well, maybe this didn’t exactly come from Out of the Woods. Fender has had 5 utility patents, 1 design patent, and 3 trademarks relevant to the Stratocaster Through the Years. But the one thing that’s been Slipping Through Their Fingers all this time was protection for that iconic (or is it?) body shape. After their design patent expired, their trademark application was Denied, and US copyright was definitionally Forbidden, anyone could see that Nothing Really Matters to the US Patent and Trademark Office, and Fender was left Walking in the Snow. Very similar (some might say identical) body shapes entered the market. It’s Late, but perhaps not too late. Fender sailed the Seven Seas to another country with different copyright laws. But with only a German court order in hand, will Fender be able to make this exclusive protection Live Forever, or is it just Cheap Talk other guitar makers can ignore? Contrary to the hot takes everywhere, it could be A Hard Day’s Night before we get a definitive answer. Is any of it JU$T? You decide.

Tune in for the history that got us here, an overview of US IP law, and to hear Jenessa argue with a computer, and 90% of people talking about this, who just cannot seem to link to the documents they’re referencing…

• Fender patents, relevant to Stratocaster:

  • Guitar shape (utility/functional features): U.S. Patent No. 2,960,900 (issued Nov. 22, 1960)

  • Guitar shape (design/ornamental features): U.S. Patent No. Des. 169,062 (issued Mar. 24, 1953)

  • Bridge and pick-up assembly: U.S. Patent No. 2,573,254 (issued Oct. 30, 1951)

  • Tremolo: U.S. Patent No. 2,741,146 (issued Apr. 10, 1956)

  • Pickup and circuit: U.S. Patent No. 2,817,261 (issued Dec. 24, 1957)

  • Adjustable neck: U.S. Patent No. 3,143,028 (issued Aug. 4, 1964)

• Dating a Fender Stratocaster, Adirondack Guitars.

• Relevant Fender trademarks

  • Fender brand name: FENDER, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 0805075 (issued/renewed Mar. 8, 1966)

  • Stratocaster name: STRATOCASTER, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 0839997 (issued Dec. 5, 1967)

  • Headstock: U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1148870 (issued Mar. 3, 1981)

• USPTO, 1512 Relationship Between Design Patent, Copyright, and Trademark.

• Stuart Spector Designs, Ltd. v. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, 94 USPQ2d 1549 (TTAB 2009) [precedential].

• Düsseldorf Regional Court (Az. 14c O 64/25)

• Carolin Thurner, The Fender Stratocaster before the Regional Court of Düsseldorf - First application of the ECJ Principles from Mio/konektra to a work of applied art in Germany, Lexology.

• Katheriner Sayer (May 28, 2026), The Brewing Fight Over the World’s Most Popular Electric Guitar, Wall Street Journal.

• Josh Gardner, Fender reportedly demands boutique builders stop making Stratocaster-style guitars: This is what it means for the industry, Guitar.com.

• Wayne’s World clip

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