Fender won a lawsuit in Düsseldorf, Germany, by default judgment against a Chinese AliExpress seller who didn't appear in court, establishing Stratocaster design copyright under German and EU law.
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At 8:10 · chapter starts 6:50
Sean Rameswaram illustrates the dupe problem by visiting Temu — completing a deer-herding human verification — and finding a visually identical Stratocaster for $53.49. Charlie Harding then reveals a damaging legal history: though the Stratocaster was developed in 1954, Fender waited until 2003 to pursue a trademark on its body shape and was flatly denied in 2009. The US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled the shape had undergone 'genericization' — it has become so ubiquitous that it is used as the default image of an electric guitar in the dictionary itself. No single company, the board said, can own a shape that everyone treats as the default.
Although the Stratocaster was developed in 1954, Fender did not attempt to claim a trademark over its body shape until 2003, nearly 50 years later.
Fender developed the Stratocaster in 1954 but waited until 2003 to seek a trademark — and was rejected in 2009. US courts ruled the shape had undergone 'genericization': it's so ubiquitous it appears as the default electric guitar in the dictionary.
The US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled in 2009 that the Stratocaster body shape had undergone 'genericization' and could not be trademarked by Fender.
The US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found the Stratocaster body so common it is depicted as the generic electric guitar in the dictionary.
After US courts rejected Fender's trademark claims, Fender found a more favorable forum in Düsseldorf. German and EU intellectual property law treats product design differently — and a default judgment against a no-show Chinese seller became Fender's legal weapon to brandish across the world.
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