HUGE UPDATE Thomann Are Suing Fender

[00:00:00]Good morning. I just woke up here in California to some of the biggest guitar news since this whole Fender situation started. And that's as the title says.

[00:00:08]Pullman, Europe's biggest musical instrument retailer, has initiated legal proceedings against Fender. They are suing Fender for the cease and desist that they've sent out. This is a huge development. I'm going to read out Toman's statement in a second, but they've basically handed Fender the Uno reverse card because Fender were threatening to sue not only Thman, but a whole bunch of manufacturers and retailers. And Thman, instead of waiting for Fender to take the next move against them and many others have stood up and decided to sue them. It's it's crazy.

[00:00:42]So, let's get into it. This all started you you know the story by now if you're clicking on this. It started when Fender won a judgment in Germany over an AliExpress sellers strap copy. The weird thing is that they won it on copyright and not trademark. Fender don't have the trademark for the strap body. They've tried, they failed. They got it on copyright, which is under the definition of art and they've used that to their advantage. Just a month ago, Fender sent out a litany of cease and assist or actually demand letters to retailers and manufacturers that were selling guitars that they deemed to be a breach of their copyright in Europe. Now, a cease and desist is one thing, but Fender took it to the next level. They demanded the destruction of the guitars, and that didn't go down well. Of course, it wouldn't. When you're dealing with musicians and you're telling them that the guitar bodies is a piece of art, simultaneously demanding that that artwork be destroyed, it's not going to go down well. It also didn't go down well just because of the sheer volume of retailers and manufacturers that they were going after. And the goodwill towards Fender has massively depleted since then with them issuing a press statement to the public through a media partner that they are one of the biggest advertisers in in which they point blank lied and the media outlet did not question it. And just last week there was a dealer only conference with the CEO publicly speaking and we weren't meant to hear it. Somebody recorded it in which he really didn't do any favors for himself nor Fender and also point blank lied. Uh I didn't do a video on that one. Brett Schul did a really good one. I'm going to link that in the description. But that's brought us up to now where Tolman has just risen up to become the champion of music retailers and guitar manufacturers. And I'm going to start off by reading their statement.

[00:02:21]Tulman takes legal action against Fender for brand diversity and innovation. Why we are taking legal action against Fender cease and desist demand. And just a note, I'm not going to read the whole statement. It's going to be linked in the description. In some parts I'm going to summarize, but when you see the statement on the screen, I'm reading it fully. Fender recently obtained a so-called default judgment at the Dusseldorf regional court against a Chinese company trading in S-style guitars. This judgment is based on missed deadlines, i.e. pure formalities, and does not, in our opinion, represent a comprehensive review of the legal claims. On this basis, Fender is now attempting to enforce a fundamental copyright claim to the body shape of the Stratacastaster and is simultaneously taking action against European dealers and manufacturers. American manufacturers who sell their instruments in Europe, however, are also affected.

[00:03:10]After careful consideration, we have decided to take legal action. We have done so because we are convinced that the questions raised here go far beyond a mere legal dispute and affect the future of diversity, innovation, and competition in our industry. 1954 was a special year for the guitar world.

[00:03:28]Fender launched the Stratacastaster.

[00:03:30]1954 was also the year in which music house Tolman was founded. Shortly after the foundation in 1954, musicians were able to buy instruments with the Fender logo from us. For more than 70 years, we have been carrying Fender instruments with conviction and great appreciation.

[00:03:46]Many of us play Fender guitars ourselves. It is understandable that Fender's current situation against long-standing business partners has surprised and disappointed us. So, right now, Tolman are surprised and disappointed. But I wonder how far will this go? Will it get messy? Because Tolman stock a lot of Fender instruments. I would not be surprised if the sales per year were in the multiple multiple millions because Fender have Fender, Squire, Jackson, Charell, Gretch, Persononus. Now, um, EVH, they're part of that as well. That is a huge portion of instruments. And if Tolman just decided to stop because they're the biggest musical retailer in Europe, they are likely Thman's biggest customer in Europe, this this could be very bad for Fender very quickly if Thman decided to end that or at least pause that for the time being. Tolman then make the argument that many have made, which is that the Strat is a functional shape. The top horn is for balance, the low horn cutaway is for access of the frets, and the curves and contours are for comfort. In fact, they're actually called comfort carves.

[00:04:58]So, it's not really hard to uh hard to argue against that one. And they make the point that the Strat body shape is public domain in the US and that many people have influenced the musical instrument industry by adapting the Strat. The biggest being Eddie Van Halen inventing the Super Strat based off the Strat body shape. And that's a compelling argument for musicians, but we're dealing with the very corporate side of Fender. I don't think they're going to be convinced, but maybe a court might be. Why we have taken action? Of course, the current escalation of the situation also affects us. We want to be able to offer you the entire range of the guitar world in the future. As a retailer and a manufacturer, we are experiencing the effects of current developments from a number of perspectives. Our Harley Benton brand is affected, too. And that, to be honest, isn't a surprise. If you were to list the biggest targets on Fender's wish list to stop competing with them, it would probably be PRS with the Silver Sky, which we know Fender are going after, and now we know Harley Benton.

[00:05:57]That would probably be number two. And especially considering that Harley Benton recently pulled out of direct sales in the US. You can still buy them in the US, but you have to buy from Tolman. It means that now the majority of the Harley Benton sales are likely to be within Europe. And if Fender can put a stop to that, that is a massive boost for their Squire range, for example. We are of course interested in having Fender's allegation of copyright infringement resolved in unbiased court proceedings. Likewise, Fender has the opportunity to present all their arguments to the court. The court may then initiate discovery, which has not happened so far. But for us, this is not just about the impact of our own business. Our CEO, Hans Tolman, makes this point. We used to be a small music store ourselves and know exactly where we've come from. Diversity, fairness, and respectfully dealing with each other have always been a part of our philosophy. Many of those affected do not have the financial and legal means to conduct such a legal dispute. We therefore see it as our responsibility to have this matter clarified in court, not only for our own company, but for all parties involved. Got to admit that's pretty cool. I might need a Thman hat instead of my old trusty Sam Ash. We have deliberately committed ourselves to the many great manufacturers, luers, and dealers whose work is indispensable for the diversity of our market. Regardless of whether or not we carry their instruments, iconic custom shop manufacturers, traditional brands, and innovative developers such as Tyler, Tom Anderson, Sir, LSL, Maybach, Pensa, FGN, or PRS, and many others stand for the multifaceted guitar ecosystem that we appreciate so much. From our point of view, it is precisely this diversity that is at stake due to the current developments. Now, it is an assumption, but based off those brands that they have named, it's probably fair enough to assume that those are some of the brands that have been threatened. And when this news story broke, it was Philip Mcnite who broke it. And he always had this theory, and I think I think he's correct, that this all has to do very much with Tolman. Because in order to prove that you're selling a guitar in Germany, Fender could do what they did with the Chinese AliExpress seller and order a guitar to Germany. But it would be a lot easier and cheaper and quicker to just go on the Toman website and see what brands are in stock. That's proof that it's in Germany and being sold in Germany. So I have to say I I believe Phil's theory there. And now that are getting into it and they're mentioning Discovery, the Discovery might show that. The thing is that German civil courts, they're not open to the public.

[00:08:37]Like, you can't go through documents or anything. So, we won't know anything about these cases until they're finished, basically, or until there's press releases about them from either parties involved. Our appeal, the history of the Stratacastaster has not been written by one company alone. It has been shaped by musicians, luers, developers, and manufacturers around the world. Its importance for the music world also arises from the sheer number of people who built on it and developed new ideas from it. We see this diversity as one of the great strengths of our industry. That is why we will continue to pursue the legal path we have chosen.

[00:09:10]Not only for our own company but also for the many manufacturers, dealers and guitar makers who have shaped our industry for decades and continue to shape it. We urge Fender to stop issuing cease and desist demands against manufacturers, distributors, and dealers and return to a fair cooperative partnership because we are convinced of this. The future of the guitar world depends on diversity, innovation, and the freedom to create. Kind of makes me want to buy something off Toman now. And that's kind of something to analyze, too. Fender have lost so much good PR, goodwill, they've lost that, and that's going to be so hard to regain. And if they continue on this path, maybe even impossible to regain at least it's setting them back substantially. And on the other hand, Thman have just received a huge amount of goodwill and good PR from doing this. They have presented themselves as standing up for the little guy. And they are realistically one of the only organizations that can. A lot of people look at guitar manufacturers and see them as some big company, but in most cases, the vast majority are like less than 10 employees. And that makes it a very daunting task to go toe-to-toe with Fender, a massive corporation in legal fees. But Pullman, they're a massive corporation who can. And like I said, even a barter chip there might be just pulling stocking of any FMIC product, which would be a massive monetary hit defender. And any monetary hits would not go down well with the investors in the company. And if they're not happy, well, then things might just change. So, I'd be interested to see are you team Thman or are you team Fender? I I have an anticipation that it's probably going to be skewed towards Toman here, but let's see. Like the video if you liked it. Use the hype button if you want to. It's free and YouTube like it. And don't forget to subscribe if you want to see more videos as well. Thank you for watching and I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.