i know that Fender copyrighted the headstock design, but why didn't they ever copyright the body? I'm just curious because it annoys me when i see all these knock-off "strats" everywhere. Would Fender be able to copyright it now? I think they should because competing companies are using the Strat design for their own profit. btw was the tele body design ever copyrighted?

-Jake

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"I don't care how good you are, how fast you are. You ain't good enough no lessin' you got the soul." -Hubert Sumlin

By the time they had gotten around to copy righting the Strat design was "commonplace" same with the Tele

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Music's the only thing that makes sense anymore, man. Play it loud enough, it keeps the demons at bay.

I imagine that back in 54 when the Strat made it's debut the business world wasn't as cut-throat as it is now,a "gentlemen's"agreements meant something and it wasn't ethical to copy someone elses designs ,the thoughts of copyrighting a specific design wasn't even considered and by the time copies started proliferating the marketplace it was too late or the cost too prohibitive to do anything about it.Maybe the headstock design was the only part of their design that they could copyright in time.That's just a theory,I don't know the real reasons but I am sure that Fender has lost countless millions of royalties in the interim.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I think you are thinking of patent.

You can copyright art, literature, music but not physical objects: those get "patented".

To my knowledge there is Registered Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents
All three being different things.

A "registered trademark" is something like the Ford Blue Oval or McDonalds' Golden Arches logo.

A "copyright" applied to the contents of a book, a song, art, and film.

A "patent" is applied to a design of an object whether it's application
is mechanical in nature or not.

As I understand it, you can change 10% of a given design and patent that
design.

IF Fender had been really concerned over the duplication of their product they would have gone to far greater lengths to protect it. Including multiple variations of the original design and patent those variations as well.

I remember seeing the blueprints for the bumper of the 1955 Chevrolet car being submitted for a Patent. In automotive production, such is commonplace. The physical bumper is like a work of sculpted art.


Here's a quickie on patent (YMMV)




What this means is that when you buy a Fender you're buying a genuine article and even though it is a company clone it's still a genuine article.
This is what is meant by buying a name.

Fender could probably restructure it's line-up to include a neck division
that just makes the necks. Necks of all the years and logos.
Same applies to Martin and Gibson.

People can build their own body and stuff their own electronics and tremolos into it while the neck is but one component to the whole machine.

To my knowledge, Fender doesn't make it's own potentiometers and wires and capacitors and I suspect their tuners as well.


When the telecaster came out, I suspect that the only parts Fender actually
fabricated was the neck, the body, the pickguard, the bridge, control plate, neck plate, through body ferrules, string trees, pickups and covers (I am not sure about the tuners and I seriously doubt if they make the screws).
Everything else would have been farmed out. The logo itself may have been outsourced to a printing company.
We already know for sure that Fender didn't make it's own paint.

Now, what can differ between a Fender and a convincingly well made clone is manufacturing processes. ie "the little secret ingredients" that's the stuff
that will hold Fender through the clone wars.
Another one of those secret ingredients is Brand Reputation, Loyalty and History.
(Leo didn't have that luxury as do the Corporate heads and major shareholders who ride on his name have today.)

There's other stuff that will help Fender in lean times. Exposure to newer generations of musicians. Innovations that compliment their classic design yet minimally visibly alter it's famous look if at all.
Other ideas would be to offer a universal body that allows for any combination of pickups and a choice selection of neck combinations and
of course, a choice selection of pickguards, pots, knobs, and pickups.

The amount of money Fender could save themselves and the consumer
if they offered such a seperate Division line of DIY products.
somthing like a "FENDER DIY INC."
This of course, would be for the advanced guitarist/tinkerer.

I can see this type of division plain as day...
Just my humble opinion.

Among the things I've heard is that Fender is getting more agressive in
protecting it's properties due to the dumping from China.
What this means is, is a lot of attorney fees and courtroom session expenses.
If in fact the rumor is true, I can only wish fender the best.
Soo many US factories have seccumbed to the manufacturing monster that is now China. People have to educate one another about the REAL
war that is going on and how the US is losing big time.
In three if not two decades, I can see a very impoverished United States
at the rate things have been going.

Or a filthy, polluted, impoverished China in the throes of an indescribably violent civil war.

Outsourcing and foreign production of 90% of all consumer products was not happening at the time they were invented, otherwise, they probably would have...

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

And the whole point is? Even a Squire is a Strat copy when you get down to it. Ibanez started copying Fender, Gibson and Martin acoustics in the early 70's. Some were so good they were sued over it. If you want the real deal, buy a Fender.
And JSJH, I'd watch the comments on China. First you never know who you're insulting, second, think what you want but China controls a lot of the world's economy and we gave it to them.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

In Forum Archives there's a thread and discussion on the recent court decision regarding the company's attempting to trademark the silhouettes of the Strat and Tele. As observed elsewhere, herein, they missed the boat. Strat and Tele are trademark/copyright terms, but other builders can and have used the exact body type to produce T- and S-type guitars and their rights to do so were upheld by the court.

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