Fender CEO Bud Cole has revealed the company is pivoting its ongoing cease-and-desist campaign, as it continues its attempts to enforce legal protection for the Stratocaster.
In May, Fender issued a wave of cease-and-desist letters to a number of guitar builders that Fender claimed were making Strat copies. The copyright dispute has been widely criticized by players, Guitar World readers and brands alike.
Cole recently gave Bloomberg his first public interview since the start of Fender’s legal strategy. In it, he concedes mistakes were made in how the company approached the dispute, and that its main target has now changed from small builders to big players.
"It’s clear to me that this got ahead of us – the legal process got ahead of us – and that we could have done this better,” says Cole.
“We are very, very focused solely on large manufacturers now,” he adds. “We are not focused at all now on boutique builders… We are not focused on small builders.”
Bloomberg has confirmed that 60 firms in total were sent cease and desists, with the first official confirmation that Schecter and Ernie Ball Music Man are involved. PRS, Yamaha and Harley Benton are the three biggest guitar companies that were already known to have been served a letter.
It doesn’t specify which models, but Schecter’s Nick Johnston signature model and Ernie Ball Music Man’s Cutlass are likely candidates.
Meanwhile, Thomann, Harley Benton’s owner, is currently locked in a high-stakes suit with Fender. PRS has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter, but has said it disagrees with Fender’s position.
LsL Instruments, a family-owned boutique firm, is also defending its right to make its Saticoy S-type. It’s one of a number of firms being represented by Ron Bienstock, the attorney who defeated Fender’s previous trademark dispute back in 2009.
Fender claims to be seeing some success in its campaign, however. Bloomberg notes it is currently working with 32 builders, 18 of which have signed agreements. Those onboard are yet to be identified, but have agreed “to stop making the Stratocaster and take it in a different direction and redo the design,” Cole says.
As for why a boutique firm such as LsL received a cease-and-desist letter in the first place, despite Fender’s new focus on larger manufacturers, Cole states: “The idea was to begin conversations with people. That has always been our objective.”
Cole made similar comments in a leaked dealer event in June. “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 at the time.
However, Bloomberg notes neither LsL nor any of Bienstock’s other clients have heard from Fender. LsL did explore a redesign of its own accord, but that was a pre-emptive move rather than a collaboration with Fender. LsL has been approached for comment.
Throughout the interview, Cole avoids defining what a Stratocaster actually is, a distinctive point of identification that lies at the heart of this dispute. According to Bloomberg, “He describes it as most others do: recognizable, unique… Defining it turns out to be slippery.”
Elsewhere, the interview confirms Fender’s legal campaign predates Cole’s tenure, and that his appointment as CEO came after the wheels were already in motion.
Cole says he knew about the original judgement that had formed the basis of Fender’s entire campaign in December 2025, two months before he got the job. He doesn’t confirm who instigated the dispute, but when pressed, offers: “We led that. That was Fender, the company.”
The dispute, then, continues. All eyes will be on the outcome of the Thomann v Fender case, and what those 18 firms’ redesigned guitars will eventually look like – and how distinct from the Stratocaster they will need to be.
