INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN GUITAR DESIGN

[elreydlp]

I guess the law is the law and that's the only reason why you have to police your trademarks to be able to claim them, but I do think it is silly for anyone to even try to say that the Strat, Tele, Precision, and Jazz shapes aren't Fender designs. I also don't see there being a difference in copying a shape and paying homage to the shape (by copying it).

My guess is that Rickenbacker wasn't mentioned in the article because they have always protected their trademarks and don't have to worry about the aftermath fifty years later.

There is a legal term for what Rickenbacker did: "SMART"!