Subject:
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Re: Use of trademarks.. is www.legoaftermarket.com legal?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.theory
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Date:
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Thu, 10 Oct 2002 14:42:30 GMT
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Viewed:
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1280 times
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First, thank you, Jake, for giving a reply. It is this willingness to
engage in discussion that sets the Lego company apart from the rest.
Also, I would suggest to everyone, that following the fair play policy is a
good idea. Why? Even if my claim is correct, Lego has basically given the
fans a lot of wiggle room to use Lego intellectual property without being
hassled. That is a big grant, and one that helps the fan base grow. So, I
suggest we respect their wishes, because we respect the company.
That said. I feel Jake has an important legal point that wasn't tested in
this case. The defendant (or appellant, really) here didn't use "Ty" so we
don't know if Ty would be successful in the argument that consumers may be
confused as to who sponsored the site. This argument has been used
successfully often in the past. However, I do think this case may be a
whiff of changing times. Intellectual Property decisions have been overly
favorable to trademark holders. Many scholars believe that its time to
reverse the trend.
If a case like this hit Lego, I would give them a 50% chance of winning at
the appeal level (They have a very good chance of winning in a federal
district or state court.)
For their fair play policy, I give them a 99% chance of not having to ever
deal with this.
(Oh, and I am sorry if I made your lawyers nervous, Jake. *I* have no
intention of going the against Lego's generous fair play policy.)
-Alfred
In lugnet.market.brickshops, Jake McKee writes:
> In lugnet.market.brickshops, Alfred Speredelozzi writes:
> > 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.
>
> Let me throw in that using "LEGO" in the URL of any site not owned or
> operated by The LEGO Company is a violation of the Fair Play Policy
> (http://www.lego.com/eng/info/fairplay.asp).
>
> We don't allow the use of our trademark in any form or fashion in the URL
> because the URL implies that the site is owned by us. And of course this
> isn't always the case!
>
> Jake
>
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Senior Producer
> LEGO Direct
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