Once Again, Lego Learns That It Cannot Trademark An Interconnecting Brick
from the can't-compete,-huh? dept
For many years now, we've covered Lego's quixotic quest to "trademark" its famous brick design. It hasn't gone well. Back in 2005, we wrote about how Canada rejected a trademark claim it made against a competitor, MegaBlok. But Lego didn't stop there, and tried to go after Mega Blok in Europe. In 2008, it lost in Europe as well. Rather than recognize the situation and focus on actually competing in the marketplace, Lego kept appealing. However, SteelWolf points us to the news that the European Court of Justice has upheld that 2008 ruling, meaning, once again, Lego has been told you can't trademark interconnecting bricks. And to think, all that time, Lego's lawyers could have just been building something cool. In the meantime, it still seems silly that the company was so focused on this. It has built up a strong fan base, and a great brand, without having to resort to trademark tricks to eliminate competitors.![Hide This Hide this](https://ii.techdirt.com/s/t/i/topclose.png)
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Lego litigation and product pricing
Lego NEEDS the competition to evolve, so they should just focus on the people that do buy their kits and not worry what anyone else does. You only have to use those cheap knock-off versions of Lego bricks to realize that Lego has the superior product. Besides, Lego builders all over the world have more ideas than all of the engineers at Lego. Connect with them and you'll do just fine.
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I have never bought or received one of their licensed kits, however, the Lego store near me just put in a wall of drawers of just plain old blocks for sale. I have a picture of it. It is my wallpaper. *sigh* I love Legos.
I think I'm going to go home and build Luxor. No, the temple complex in Egypt not ... the temple complex in Vegas.
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I think you can also order whatever blocks you want online too, I believe they even have a CAD program so you can design a set and then order it.
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Yes, you can order bags of blocks online. I'll just leave it at that.
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Same problem: litigate instead of innovate
Before that, Lego was struggling to stay profitable; sales were down compared to earlier years. Perhaps it was a combination of competition from other block makers or with interactive devices from Nintendo and Sony. But whatever the reason, Lego can't seem to innovate and adapt with changing times.
Sure, those licensed tie-ins are hugely profitable but it’s their only real trick right now. And I think they know that. Otherwise, they would be confident in their reputation as a brick maker.
P.S.
As a HUGE Lego fan as a child, I am really upset that the licensing has gotten so big for them. I'm all for special & rare sets but the fun I had with their blocks came from being able to create my own world. The special pieces and branded parts that come with those sets wouldn't let me be as creative.
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Re: Same problem: litigate instead of innovate
My son has a firetruck set and it can build a firetruck and not much else. I may be misremembering my childhood, but I recall the sets had a lot more generic parts. The specialized parts can be nice but they make it a lot harder to build something completely from one's imagination.
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I may have to make a visit to Toys R Us to see if they have any good sets now.
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Doubtful.
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As if a trademark issue is the only thing that Lego is focused on. Keep making stuff up Mike, maybe one day you actually get good at it.
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More time spent on litigation HAS to be less time spent on designing.
More money spent on litigation HAS to be less money spent on designing.
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I think Mike was joking.
I really don't think Lego would hire lawyers to sit around and build things.
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Thanks.
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Yeah but, Lego has a superior product
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The fact that despite their advantages, Lego doesn't think it can compete in the marketplace is frustrating.
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Lego is a good example of the execution being more important than IP for business success. Lego bricks are extremely well made to very tight tolerances (certainly tighter than any other childrens toy). The fact that millions upon millions of plastic bricks have been manufactured that are ALL compatible with each other and will interconnect strongly is quite incredible. Their competitors simply don't match such quality.
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