“So common that it is depicted as a generic electric guitar in a dictionary”: When Fender went to court and lost – the 2009 court ruling that failed to trademark the Stratocaster

Fender Stratocaster.

If Fender’s cease-and-desist campaign against manufacturers of S-style guitars feels familiar, that’s because it is. We have been here before.

Over the years, Fender has spilled considerable treasure in trying to win legal protections for its most iconic designs. The most infamous of such rulings arrived in 2009, bringing an end to five long years of litigation in an attempt to trademark the body shapes of the Telecaster, Stratocaster and Precision Bass – and it was bad news for Fender.