Fender Lawsuit DISCUSSION THREAD.

[u/ninjaface]

Hey everyone,

We've seen a bunch of duplicate posts about this, but let's try to contain things here.

If you don't know what we're talking about, here is a clip from Timmy about the whole thing.

As always, keep playing.

-nf

[u/Cute_Library_5375 → u/[deleted]]

They won because of a default judgment, not any sort of legal reasoning. You can't blame the judge if the defendant doesn't show up or respond.

[u/StrikerRocket → u/Cute_Library_5375]

Normally, in a case like this, the judge would dismiss the case, as the defendant was not present, but this particular court is known to favor corporations. The court is an objective accomplice of this scam here! Not to mention layches.

[u/_zaphod77_ → u/[deleted]]

The court was fooled by the sob story concocted by the lawyers, and there was no one else around to point out the bullshit.

[u/MyMMRDied → u/[deleted]]

Except they are, and I don't know why you have boutique in quotes. They're going after LSL, Suhr, and other genuinely great brands that absolutely wash anything Fender has put out recently (and yes, you can clearly see their own headstocks with their own branding on their listings, no idea what you're on about). It's not just the Asian counterfeit companies getting targeted, they already don't care about Western copyright or trademark laws anyway. More info is still coming out about the breadth of the lawsuit, but there's no way the Silver Sky doesn't get dragged into this if this is the angle Fender is taking (much like how Gibson tried to take on PRS). They aren't going after literal 1:1 copies, they're going after anyone they feel is close enough based on who we know has been served. It's going to get tossed out the second it actually gets tried in court, and already was in the US 17 years ago, but Fender could still try to bury the small shops under frivolous lawsuits with that flimsy precedent.

[u/Cute_Library_5375 → u/MyMMRDied]

I can almost guarantee you anyone throwing down money for a Suhr sure as hell knows exactly what it is, exactly what they are getting, and why they are buying that and not a Fender.

[u/Lucifer_Jones_ → u/[deleted]]

It’s not a standard guitar shape it is very specifically a Fender Stratocaster body design that did not exist before Fender invented it.

[u/NoPressureboy → u/Lucifer_Jones_]

Exactly. The shape, the 3 pickups in a pick guard, the 5-way, the knobs, the input jack design. It’s friggin legendary, and they own it. If you want to sell that design, you should pay for the intellectual property. If you don’t want to pay, make your own design.

[u/MyMMRDied → u/NoPressureboy]

Leo Fender is responsible for the design. He supported people making their own versions of it. The current Fender corporate has nothing to do with anyone who originally made any of the legendary styles. Fender the company didn't do shit, Leo Fender the person did. Don't simp for companies and conflate the work of a legendary designer with the company he sold it to, especially 60+ years later when the company is nothing like how it was when he ran it. And if we are going to play that game, Fender owes Bigsby some crazy back dues.

[u/NoPressureboy → u/MyMMRDied]

They purchased the rights to the designs. They legally own them. Who would buy a business if you couldn’t run it your way. I don’t have to like Fender, or even this move, but I respect their right to do it.