“The whole guitar world has benefited from his hard work and wisdom”: LSL confirms that its legal fight against Fender is being coordinated by the same attorney who won 2009 trademark case against the brand
LSL Instruments says it has “full confidence” in Ron Bienstock, as it confirms it hired the attorney – who famously won a 2009 trademark case against Fender – as its representation following a widely publicised cease-and-desist campaign from Fender.
Fender sent shockwaves through the guitar industry last month when it sent cease and desist letters to a number of guitar manufacturers ordering them to stop building guitars reminiscent of the Stratocaster, arguably the most iconic guitar design in history.
Strat-style guitars – commonly referred to as ‘S-type’ or ‘S-style’ guitars – are ubiquitous across the guitar market, with large Fender-competing brands like Ibanez, PRS and Yamaha making their own variations, as well as many smaller boutique builders like Suhr and LSL Instruments.
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 it was one of the brands affected
But following a default judgement at a court in Germany in March 2026 against Chinese instrument manufacturer Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments – which ruled that the Stratocaster was a “copyrighted work of applied art” in the EU after Yiwu failed to turn up to court – Fender embarked on a campaign against guitar builders closely replicating the Stratocaster design, saying they were infringing on Fender’s copyright.
The case has provoked intense backlash towards Fender from the guitar community, with some high-profile content creators including Rhett Shull, Rick Beato and Tim Pierce publicly condemning the company over the move.
Though the ruling upon which the latest action was based pertained to the copyright of the Stratocaster design, Fender previously lost a trademark dispute in 2009, after it tried and failed to obtain trademarks for the body shapes of the Stratocaster, Telecaster and Precision Bass.
Generally speaking, copyright protects creative works, like music and art, for example, while trademark protects things that identify brands, including business names, logos and slogans.
The 2009 trademark case was won by attorney Ron Bienstock, who represented a consortium of brands campaigning against Fender’s pursuit of the Strat, Tele and P-Bass body shape trademarks.
And it’s been confirmed that Bienstock is once again taking the fight to Fender on behalf of LSL Instruments, one of the first boutique builders that confirmed it had received a cease and desist letter.
Writing that he has “full confidence” in Bienstock’s abilities, LSL Instruments Director Of Business Development Johny Miller says in a statement shared with Guitar.com: “He has a great team and a history of working through cases like this with giant guitar brands.
“He has spent six years of his life in the trenches in a similar situation and the whole guitar world has benefited from his hard work and wisdom. I don’t think there is a person on Earth with more in-depth knowledge of this than Ron.
“We are trusting him and his team with our part in this matter. All the love and support has been truly overwhelming and beautiful. We are not alone. Unity prevails.”
As Fender’s cease-and-desist campaign continues, CEO Edward “Bud” Cole recently responded to backlash at a recent dealer event, saying the company is “not suing anybody”.
“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,” he said.
While it’s true that Fender does not yet seem to be engaged in active litigation over the issue, the numerous cease and desist letters sent to guitar builders contained the threat of litigation if demands were not met.
This is an ongoing story. Stay tuned to Guitar.com for more updates.
The post “The whole guitar world has benefited from his hard work and wisdom”: LSL confirms that its legal fight against Fender is being coordinated by the same attorney who won 2009 trademark case against the brand appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
