Subject:
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Re: KKK described latest restructuring as "last chance" for Lego in FT article
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Wed, 17 Mar 2004 18:25:18 GMT
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Viewed:
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1298 times
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In lugnet.general, Dave Lovelace wrote:
> I've never, ever understood how TLC's patented product could be so readily
> replicated to such exacting degrees by other companies (always trumpeting their
> "compatability with LEGO!"). Because that's the real issue. Instead of going
> after WM, TRU, KMart, etc., whining about keeping MEGABLOKS away from the LEGO
> products, why aren't they going after the source of their problems, once and for
> all?
> I mean, cripes...it's obvious to anyone that these clone companies are just
> reaping the benefits of the hard work of other people. I'm not well read about
> this at all...has TLC ever tried suing these companies, forcing them to shut
> down? How could anyone look at this situation and see it as anything but
> completely unfair? Why would the system allow TLC to be bankrupted by those
> companies that have VERY conspicuously ripped off the product, down to
> millionths of a millimeter??
>
> Fuming mad,
These are legitimate questions, and TLG has indeed gone after a number of clone
companies over the years. Most recently, TLG's lawsuit in Canada against
MEGABLOKS for patent violation was thrown out, as discussed here:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2003/15/c2327.html
and in numerous other places around the web.
The primary brick of contention is the 2x4, the patent for which expired in
1978.
MEGABLOKS in particular and clone brands in general no longer market themselves
as "compatible with LEGO," because TLG has successfully argued in various courts
that such a claim implies an endorsement by LEGO when none existed. Currently,
MEGABLOKS makes no claims of compatibility, whereas other brands, such as
Best-Lock and BTR, assert themselves to "work with" or be "compatible with" "the
leading brand," a generic claim that does not infringe on TLG's intellectual
property rights.
There are other companies that have stepped over the line and have been
appropriately slapped by various courts. Not long ago the Coko brand lost a
lawsuit in China because they produced a number of bricks all but identical to
designs for which TLG still holds the patents.
MEGABLOKS, however, produces no bricks or elements in violation of TLG's
patents, and MEGABLOKS has never produced a set particularly similar to any LEGO
set (aside from generic bulk buckets, the packaging for which easily
distinguishes one brand from the other. It can be argued that the average
consumer can't distinguish the two brands at a glance, but the same can be said
of Hot Wheels and Matchbox, or Barbi and some generic doll.
Dave!
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