Last week, Fender CEO Edward “Bud” Cole reflected on a tumultuous few months for the company, during which it’s seen widespread backlash over its decision to issue cease and desist letters to companies making Strat-style guitars.

Speaking to Bloomberg Business about the ongoing legal campaign, he admitted that Fender “could have done this better”, adding: “It’s clear to me the legal process got ahead of us”. He also sought to clarify the brand’s position, claiming that its legal action was now focused “solely on large manufacturers”.

Some of the larger guitar makers to have been hit with cease and desists include Thomann – which makes S-type guitars under its in-house Harley Benton brand, as well as Yamaha and PRS.

But despite his reflective tone, Bud Cole has confirmed that Fender has no plans to halt its legal campaign, and even said that the strategy is working, with 32 builders currently working with Fender on drafting agreements that would see the legal threat resolved. 18 have reportedly signed already.

Speaking to musician and YouTuber Mary Spender in a new interview, Cole predicts how Fender’s ongoing legal campaign might play out, and reiterates his desire for “respectful discussions” with other guitar builders.

“There are several [brands] that we are beginning the conversations with – we recognise that there are material differences between what they are creating, and what we believe is the quintessential Stratocaster,” he says.

Cole predicts that over the coming months, Fender will be in a “very different place” to the one it’s found itself in lately, which has been defined by heavy community backlash and criticism.

“At this point, I think we have to let this play out,” he continues, “and we’ll do it in the most respectful and earnest way, because we are all part of the same industry, and we all do it in certain ways and get inspiration from each other. That’s what makes this industry so wonderful.

“At the same time, I recognise that companies have unique intellectual property and that should be respected at the same time. I think they can both exist, and that’s what we’re trying to get to. We’re trying to do that going forward in a way that is respectful, collaborative and caring.”

Once again, Cole is regretful about the way Fender went about its initial cease and desist campaign. “The optics of it, even the reality of it, it wasn’t done that way to start, and that’s a course correction that we must own and that we need to make.”

In Bud Cole’s interview with Bloomberg Business, he explained how that course correction has come via a new focus on larger guitar makers producing S-types. “We are not focused at all now on boutique builders,” he said.

One boutique builder to to reveal itself as one of the first recipients of a Fender cease and desist was California-based LsL Instruments. The brand subsequently hired experienced guitar industry lawyer Ron Bienstock – who famously won a 2009 trademark case against Fender on behalf of a group of guitar brands – to help fight its case.

However, despite Cole’s comments, LsL told Bloomberg that it had heard nothing from Fender indicating it was no longer being actively pursued. In any case, LsL’s legal battle has been an expensive one. The brand raised $50k via GoFundMe to support their legal costs after the initial cease and desist story broke, and last week announced a sale on guitars to “raise $75k in a very short amount of time”.

You can watch Mary Spender’s interview with Fender CEO Edward “Bud” Cole below: