Music retailer Thomann has announced legal action against Fender, challenging the guitar giant’s recent campaign of cease-and-desist letters sent to manufacturers and retailers producing or selling Strat-style instruments.
In doing so, Thomann says it is not only defending its own Harley Benton brand, but also standing up for a broader guitar industry increasingly concerned about the implications of Fender’s legal strategy.
The battle traces back to a little-noticed German court ruling
At the center of the controversy is a default judgment issued by the Düsseldorf Regional Court in December 2025. The court ruled that the Stratocaster body shape qualifies as a copyrighted work of applied art. However, the case itself involved a Chinese seller offering near-identical copies through AliExpress, and the defendant never appeared in court to contest the claims.
That detail has become a key talking point for Fender’s critics.
Beginning in May 2026, Fender reportedly began citing the ruling in cease-and-desist letters sent through international law firm Bird & Bird to a range of guitar manufacturers and retailers across Europe and the United States. The demands allegedly included halting production and sales of affected instruments, recalling products already sold, and providing customer and sales information.
Several companies, including PRS and independent American builders, have since publicly acknowledged receiving correspondence from Fender.
The growing backlash prompted Fender CEO Edward “Bud” Cole to address the issue publicly in June, maintaining that Fender was not actively suing companies but rather reaching out to a limited number of businesses regarding intellectual property concerns.
Thomann says the Stratocaster shape is defined by function
At the heart of Thomann’s legal argument is a principle familiar to industrial designers: form follows function.
According to the retailer, the Stratocaster’s success cannot be separated from the practical design decisions that shaped the instrument. The upper horn contributes to balance, the deep cutaways improve upper-fret access, and the body’s contours enhance playing comfort. Those features, Thomann argues, were originally developed to improve ergonomics rather than serve as purely artistic elements.
Because of that functional foundation, the company says the Stratocaster silhouette became a platform for innovation that countless builders have expanded upon for decades. From boutique workshops to major manufacturers, variations on the S-style formula have become one of the guitar industry’s defining traditions.
Thomann even points to Eddie Van Halen’s legendary Frankenstrat as an example of how open experimentation around the Stratocaster platform helped give birth to entirely new categories of instruments, including the SuperStrat movement that would eventually influence the broader industry — Fender included.
CEO Hans Thomann Jr. framed the lawsuit as a matter of responsibility to the wider guitar community on the Thomann site: “We used to be a small music store ourselves and know exactly where we have come from.
“Diversity, fairness and respectfully dealing with each other have always been part of our philosophy. Many of those affected do not have the financial and legal means to conduct such a legal dispute. We therefore see it as our responsibility to have this matter clarified in court not only for our own company, but for all parties involved.”
Boutique builders and major brands could be affected
In its statement, Thomann specifically highlighted a number of companies it believes could be impacted by the outcome of the dispute: “We have deliberately committed ourselves to the many great manufacturers, luthiers and dealers whose work is indispensable for the diversity of our market, regardless of whether or not we carry their instruments.
“Iconic custom shop manufacturers, traditional brands and innovative developers such as Tyler, Tom Anderson, Suhr, LSL, Maybach, Pensa, FGN or PRS and many others stand for the multifaceted guitar ecosystem that we appreciate so much. From our point of view, it is precisely this diversity that is at stake due to current developments.”
Thomann calls for a return to cooperation
Despite the increasingly public nature of the conflict, Thomann’s statement concludes with an appeal for reconciliation: “We urge Fender to stop issuing cease and desist demands against manufacturers, distributors and dealers and to return to a fair, cooperative partnership. Because we are convinced of this: The future of the guitar world depends on diversity, innovation and the freedom to create.”
The company says it intends to continue pursuing legal clarification while urging Fender to halt its cease-and-desist campaign and return to a more cooperative relationship with the broader guitar community.
