Fender loses battle to trademark 3 guitar shapes

Scottsdale-based Fender Musical Instruments Corp. has lost a six-year legal battle to trademark the shapes of three of its most famous guitars.

The federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board agreed with 17 smaller guitar companies that the shapes of the Stratocaster, Telecaster and Precision Bass have been so widely used for so long in the U.S. music industry that Fender alone does not own them.

The board, part of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, denied Fender’s applications to register two-dimensional outlines of the guitar designs as its trademarks. The board published its decision March 25.