Thomann Sues Fender: Music Retailer Goes on the Offensive in Stratocaster Dispute
World's Largest Music Retailer Stands Up for Countless Affected Guitar Makers
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Thomann Sues Fender: Music Retailer Goes on the Offensive in Stratocaster Dispute · Source: Thomann
It’s official: Thomann sues Fender The world’s largest music retailer is firing back with a legal counterpunch against the wave of cease-and-desist letters the US guitar maker has been sending for weeks to manufacturers and retailers of S-style guitars across Europe and the US. With the lawsuit, Thomann says it’s standing up for its own brand Harley Benton, along with a whole string of other affected companies. Here’s the statement.
The Bottom Line
- Thomann has taken legal action against Fender
- The dispute is rooted in a default judgment from the Düsseldorf Regional Court in December 2025
- Since May 2026, Fender has been sending cease-and-desist letters to S-style guitar manufacturers and retailers through the law firm Bird & Bird
- Thomann’s own brand Harley Benton is caught up in the wave of letters too
- Thomann wants the copyright infringement claims settled in a proper court proceeding
- CEO Hans Thomann frames the move as a responsibility toward the entire industry
- Thomann is calling on Fender to stop the letters and return to a cooperative relationship
Thomann Sues Fender: Background, Statement, and Fallout for the Guitar Industry
The Backstory: Weeks of Cease-and-Desist Letters
The whole thing traces back to a default judgment from the Düsseldorf Regional Court in December 2025. The court ruled at the time that the Stratocaster’s body shape counts as a copyrighted work of applied art. The defendant was a Chinese seller shipping nearly identical copies into Germany via AliExpress, who never even showed up in court.
Starting in May, Fender used that ruling as grounds to send cease-and-desist letters through the law firm Bird & Bird to manufacturers and retailers across Europe and the US. The demands included halting production and sales, recalling guitars already sold, and handing over customer and sales data. PRS and several smaller American luthiers have since publicly confirmed they received one of these letters.
Fender CEO Edward “Bud” Cole addressed the industry backlash publicly for the first time in mid-June, insisting the company wasn’t suing anyone, just reaching out to a handful of businesses. Now Thomann is upping the ante: Thomann is suing Fender, turning defense into offense.
A Shared History Going Back to 1954
1954 was a big year for both companies. Fender launched the Stratocaster that year, and Thomann was founded the same year. Fender instruments landed in Thomann’s catalog not long after, and they’ve stayed there ever since. Thomann says it’s carried the brand with genuine conviction for more than 70 years now, and plenty of Thomann employees play Fender guitars themselves.
That’s exactly why Thomann’s statement leans into the personal side of this fight. The company says it found Fender’s current approach toward longtime business partners surprising and disappointing, language that says a lot about how far this relationship goes beyond a simple buyer-seller arrangement.
Form Follows Function: The Core Argument
At the heart of the statement is a principle Thomann sums up as form follows function. The Stratocaster didn’t become successful purely because of its looks, the company argues, but because of its ergonomics. The upper horn balances the instrument, the cutaways make the upper frets easier to reach, and the body contours add comfort. All of that, Thomann says, was originally designed to give musicians the most functional instrument possible.
That functional logic, Thomann goes on, has made the shape a starting point for countless variations over the decades. Small workshops and established manufacturers alike have kept reinterpreting the S-style concept generation after generation. In the US itself, the shape has long been considered public domain.
As an example, Thomann points to Eddie Van Halen’s legendary Frankenstrat. That kind of free experimentation is exactly what gave rise to the SuperStrat, a development that still inspires guitarists and builders today, one Thomann says even Fender itself ultimately benefited from.
Why Thomann Is Acting Now
Thomann says the current escalation hits close to home, since its own Harley Benton brand is caught up in the wave of letters too. The company says it wants to keep offering customers the full range of the guitar world going forward. It’s experiencing the situation as both a retailer and a manufacturer at the same time.
Thomann is suing Fender for smaller manufacturers too, the ones who could never afford a legal fight like this on their own. The company explicitly says it wants the copyright infringement claims settled in a proper, neutral court proceeding where both sides get to make their case. The Düsseldorf ruling so far never went through an actual evidentiary hearing, a meaningful difference from a fully contested trial.
CEO Hans Thomann adds: “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.”
Thomann specifically names manufacturers outside its own catalog too. Custom shop brands and innovators like Tyler, Tom Anderson, Suhr, LSL, Maybach, Pensa, FGN, and PRS get cited as examples of a diverse guitar scene the company believes is now at risk because of how this is unfolding.
The Appeal to Fender
Thomann closes the statement with a direct appeal. The Stratocaster’s story, the company argues, was always written by musicians, builders, and manufacturers around the world, never by a single company. That diversity is exactly what Thomann sees as one of the industry’s biggest strengths.
Thomann says it plans to keep pursuing this legal path, for its own company as well as for the many manufacturers, retailers, and luthiers who’ve shaped the industry for decades. The company is calling on Fender to stop the cease-and-desist letters and get back to a cooperative relationship.
Bottom Line and My Take on “Thomann Sues Fender”
Thomann is suing Fender, and that pushes the fight over the Stratocaster’s shape into a whole new phase. Instead of individual cease-and-desist letters and public statements, there’s now an actual court case on the table, one where both sides will have to lay out their arguments. Thomann says there’s no formal coordination with other affected manufacturers or retailers, the company is acting on its own legal footing here. How Fender responds to this is obviously still up in the air for now. As always, we’ll keep you posted.
Whether Thomann actually moves the needle with this is hard to call right now, but it’s safe to say almost nobody in the industry is watching this one from the sidelines. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this case ends up answering some bigger questions, like how far shape protection in guitar building should really reach, or whether Fender ends up backing down completely. What’s your take? Drop a comment, we’re curious to hear how you see this one.
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15 responses to “Thomann Sues Fender: Music Retailer Goes on the Offensive in Stratocaster Dispute”
Thomann is now my favorite music store. I appreciate that they’re fighting the good fight. I’m not interested in anything Fender anymore.
Two years ago I decided it was time to buy the “guitar of my dreams”, a custom shop Fender strat. I shopped around and ended up buying an Anderson instead. Fender quality control has been pretty poor.
It’s really a “lesser of two evils” situation here. Let them fight.
Fender, one of the many guitar maker VS the biggest retailler in the world.
Even if Thomann loose, wich they wont, they can just stop selling Fender and starve them into oblivion.
Fender company and Leo Fender is legend worldwide and as iconic as as a cheese burger ,an expensive Cuban cigar the Fender Stratocaster, and it’s I iconic following the Fender telecaster need no introduction they introduced themselves to the world you don’t even have ambition ability everyone wanted either but it was one or the other or even both ,you can’t fight the company Fender , people are family a d Fender are a family the told me many years ago welcome to the Fender family , me and many many others too , you can’t fight the world !
Dear Fender (you probably won’t read this),
There is a law to how life works – you do not push or pull things for the sake of manipulation. Whatever you pull towards you, you will lose and whatever you push away from you, will keep on coming back to you.
Your pulling will not have the desired effect – it will make things worse.
Anyway…
Well maybe Martin should sue fender for making acoustic guitars. Lol! Damn fender, you got the high end guitars covered let whoever do whatever they want cause the fender name is what people buy nobody can compete with that name nor the impeccable reputation. Go worry about quality control in your own plants. Leave the little guys alone.
The Stratocaster was revolutionary because of its integrated electronics, which could be completely assembled and tested before dropping it right into the guitar. The pre-wired pickguard market is all you need to see for proof. The moral argument supercedes any legal one. Is it ok to just steal other companies’ design and manufacturing techniques? Should Toyota be able to make a dead knock off of a 1957 Corvette and just put a different hood ornament and square tail lights on it?
Yes.
It was revolutionary in the 50s… When an idea gives you a competitive edge, you must patent it and can enjoy your advantage for 20 years (provided that you pay the fees until then). If you could protect an invention forever, there would be no competition anymore, just monopolies.
Ooooh, this is a big one and I don’t think anyone realizes the implications of the outcome. If they win it could in essence make or brake the music industry long term. They ” Fender” could argue because they own the shape and technology they could in essence argue they own the sound that comes out of it and should be compensated for it. I think its more serious than people realize. Fender is known for thinking bigger and they start small but have a much bigger fish in mind. Judgement should be very, very carefully considered because its gonna open up a whole can of worms and release whatever is inside Pandora’s box. Then its too late to cry about it.
LFG! Praise to Thomann!
I like a lot the logic Thomann puts forward: the Strat was shaped out of functionary constrains, it’s more a work of engineering than a work of art (whether you like the look of the guitar being irrelevant in this case). If the shape solves a problem, then it’s more an invention than anything else. Provided that it was ever patented, it has fell since long in the public domain… Interesting approach!
“Form follows function” is a ludicrous argument. Copycat brands can’t justify using the same pickguard shape, same pickup switch location and style, and the same angled, top-mounted output jack. All of those design elements are evidence of the protectable ‘art’ of the Stratocaster design. I still remember years ago when a company not called Fender or Gibson would make a copy of one the classic guitars and we’d call it a “ripoff” of that guitar. Still true, whether it’s inexpensive or more expensive. Just design your own stuff. Build your own market. What happened to that? Everywhere else except the music equipment business….
Thomann is no hero here. It built a phony brand off the backs of actual pioneers.
What exactly did Fender think they would accomplish by sending a cease and desist letter to their business partner of over 50 years who also happens to be their largest retailer in the EU and a $1.5 billion corporation? Their actions put a glaring spotlight on the stupidity of this whole scenario. This would be like Hanes suing Walmart because they sell their own brand of underwear. Hey Fender, here’s a tip: you wanna save you business? Build better guitars.
I am starting up as a late-blooming luthier. Thank you to Thomann for speaking in the name of those whose pockest are less deep to fight the giants. I will support Thomann until my last breath here for everything that I can.
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