Fender CEO responds to cease-and-desist backlash, says company is “not suing anybody”
Following weeks of controversy surrounding Fender’s cease-and-desist letters over alleged infringement on the Stratocaster body shape, the company’s CEO Edward “Bud” Cole has sought to clarify Fender’s position in a speech to dealers.
READ MORE: Fender claims social media has led to “a lot of misunderstandings about the nature and the scope” of their cease and desist blitz… as PRS confirms they were one of the brands affected
The speech took place at a Fender event for dealers. It was filmed and published to YouTube last week by Bananas At Large, a musical instrument dealer based in California, and brought to wider attention in videos posted by Phillip McKnight and Rhett Shull.
Cole initially seeks to reassure the crowd that Fender has not sought active litigation against anyone, saying: “First and foremost, Fender is not suing anybody.” Referring to the cease-and-desist letters received by several companies, he adds: “What we’ve done is reach out thoughtfully and [respectfully] to a handful of companies whose guitars come extremely close to replicating the iconic Fender Stratocaster design.”
Cole then seeks to further clarify which guitars Fender views as potentially “replicating” the design, taking issue with a common piece of phraseology used when marketing double-cut guitars. “We’re talking specifically about the Stratocaster, because that’s what this is really about – calling it simply the ‘S-style’ or the ‘S-shape’ is an attempt to diminish and whitewash the immeasurable game-changing contribution that Leo and his team made to the entire industry that all of us have built so much of our success and careers around.”
In the full speech, Cole also seeks to clarify the nature of Fender’s ownership – in response to online comments that have chalked the recent cease-and-desist actions up to the brand being owned by “private equity.” He also reassures the room that this issue has been raised in the EU, and therefore will have less impact on dealers selling American brands.
It is worth noting, however, that while Fender does not seem to be engaged in active litigation over this issue, the cease-and-desist letters sent out do still contain the threat of litigation, if the request is not met. Additionally, while the cease-and-desist letters have been sent regarding instruments being sold in the EU, this still includes US-based brands such as PRS.
Cole’s intention was clearly to quash at least some of the intense controversy that has circled Fender since LsL first revealed that it had received a cease-and-desist. However, commentators seem unconvinced by the walk-back – Rhett Shull, for instance, called Cole’s speech “insulting”, and took issue with the idea that the initial threats were “thoughtful and respectful”. Phillip McKnight had similar issues with the clip, going so far as to say Cole was lying when he characterised the cease-and-desist letters as thoughtful and respectful.
While the furor over the issue rolls on (particularly in Fender’s own social media comments) it remains to be seen what the material outcome for the wider guitar market will be. While only LsL and PRS have gone on record as having received letters, one other global brand – that we cannot name due to confidentiality reasons – has received a letter, and has rebuffed Fender’s demands via its own lawyers. PRS also told the Wall Street Journal that it “disagrees” with Fender’s assessment, although it’s unclear whether the brand intends to take this disagreement to court.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
