Fender, the US maker of the iconic Stratocaster electric guitar played by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, has widened its legal campaign to defend the guitar's design with a notice letter sent to Yamaha, the Japanese company told Reuters.
Fender began an aggressive campaign over the shape of the Strat in March, after a German court granted it copyright protection over the body shape in the European Union (EU). Fender sent cease-and-desist letters to manufacturers and retailers asking them to halt production and sale of affected models in the region, sparking a backlash across the guitar industry, drawing legal challenges and criticism from independent manufacturers.
