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Is www.legoaftermarket.com legal?
I think it is. At least in the region of the 7th circuit court of
appeals in the U.S.
This case is an interesting read for anyone selling Lego toys. It is a
case brought by Ty (Beanie Babies) against a website owner who uses
"beanie" in her URL. They own the trademark in "Beanie Babies" and
think that her site dilutes their mark. The problem? She is selling
actual Ty products. Since the trademark is there to identify the source
of the product (not to allow the producer to control who can sell the
product) it is legitimate to use it when selling that product.
I think this case gives legal support to anyone that is re-selling Lego
bricks (or other toys) exclusively, and who use the Lego brand name in
their URL. I think it is an important step in redirecting the use of
trademark law to control how the internet is used. I hope for decisions
in the future that allow URLs for parody and commentary, without running
afoul of trademark law.
Possible problems:
"Beanie" is a lot more generic than "Lego", a point that added to the
strength of the Appeals court decision.
The "Lego" brand is the company name, rather than just the product
brand. A court may see the company name as needing stronger protection,
but I doubt it. Given this opinion, if I sold used Toyotas I believe I
could legally use www.AlsUsedToyotas.com.
Anyway, it is fairly dense reading below for anyone not used to reading
court decisions. It isn't the longest I have read, so it was easy for
me, but it may not be easy for you.
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/7th/021771P.pdf
I would love to hear the discussion on this.
Also, I think Lego is doing the right thing. They are _requesting_
people not use their trademark in URLs in their fair play policy. They
have a good history of NOT suing people who do (I think), and working
with fans to keep the fanship alive. I haven't heard any pressure of
Lego against aftermarkets. I just read this case and thought of how it
might apply to my favorite hobby.
-Alfred
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Alfred J. Speredelozzi, Jr. Diamond Bullet Design
alfredjr@diamondbullet.com http://www.usabilityfirst.com
734-665-9307 (fax) 734-665-9353
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