Timeline entry
Fender CEO Bud Cole tells Bloomberg the legal campaign “got ahead of us”
In a Bloomberg interview picked up by Guitar.com and Guitar World, Fender CEO Edward “Bud” Cole gave his most candid account yet of the cease-and-desist campaign, saying “there’s been a lot of introspection about this. It’s clear to me that the legal process got ahead of us” and that “we could have done this better.” Bloomberg reported roughly 60 companies received letters, with 32 now negotiating draft agreements and 18 already signed. Cole said Fender is now “very, very focused solely on large manufacturers” rather than boutique builders like LsL Instruments, framing the goal as opening conversations about design changes rather than pursuing direct copies.
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Timeline context
This note is one entry in the AltGuitar Legal Timeline — a chronological record of the Fender-style guitar-shape dispute, court rulings, cease-and-desist reports and market reactions. See the full timeline for the surrounding context.
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