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In lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, Dave Schuler wrote:
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This style of minifig ... suggests to me that TLG’s patents must have
expired some time ago.
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Hm. I was under the impression that even just the *image* of a minifig was
un-marketable thanks to copyright. I seem to recall that Mike Rayhawk was
prevented from selling his BrikWars artwork for that reason (although I don’t
think he ever tried to push the issue, since he has a vested interest in not
annoying the company).
I seem to remember having seen the minifig-style fig in the Chinese knock-offs
“Brick”/”Shifty”, but they were flat-out barred from sale in the US (for other
reasons primarily of course). Only ones I’ve ever noticed to date in the US have
been less minifiggy, I guess...
DaveE
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Cobi/Best-Lock
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| (...) Old Timers may recall the flap back in '99 over the (URL) LEGODEATH> image originally crafted by "Froggy." A brief (400+ post) thread on RTL can be read (URL), if you're interested. I can't remember what became of that whole issue, but clearly (...) (17 years ago, 3-Jan-07, to lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, FTX)
| | | Re: Cobi/Best-Lock
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| (...) It's about trademark rather than copyright - the minifig is legally recognized to represent the Lego company, it's not just one of their designs or intellectual properties. From a legal standpoint, using the minifig is equivalent to using the (...) (17 years ago, 10-Jan-07, to lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Cobi/Best-Lock
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| (...) I'm not sure, to be honest. Cobi has existed for some time in Europe (based in Poland) but has only become available in the US very recently, in the wake of the Cobi/Best-Lock merger. Over at (URL) The Bloks Forum> we've been discussing this (...) (17 years ago, 2-Jan-07, to lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, FTX)
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