Gibson had also received complaints from Fender that the Firebird headstock mirrored the Stratocaster and that the body violated Fender's design patents, with Fender threatening a lawsuit.
Компания Fender утверждала, что головка грифа Firebird — зеркальное отражение гитары Stratocaster и что дизайн корпуса Firebird нарушал права на патент.