MediaWatch : 1542


MediaWatch / 1542	1541 \| 1543

Subject:	Re: Trademark defense doesn't work vs Mega Bloks
Newsgroups:	lugnet.mediawatch, lugnet.general
Date:	Wed, 4 Aug 2004 21:29:25 GMT
Viewed:	2528 times

In lugnet.mediawatch, Dave Schuler wrote: > <http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2003/15/c2327.html This item> > has been mentioned previously on LUGNET, but it seems relevant to bring it up > again. The article points out that LEGO allowed the patent on the 2x4 brick, > (presumably including the tube/stud system) to expire in 1978, so they opened > the door for imitators. I can't imagine why they wouldn't have renewed the > patent, but now they're reaping what they've sown. Uh-- did they really 'allow' it to expire? I was under the impression that the patent lasted 20 years, then 'tough noogies'. 1958 was the patent year for the stud-and-tube system, so 1978 would fit the bill... I was interested to see some of the other imitators from before 1978, though: http://www.personal.u-net.com/~lilleker/otherpics/lego-t6.jpg Kinda cool. But even before that, with Lego's predacessors like KiddieCraft, MiniBrix, etc, it seems like nobody could make the idea of interlocking bricks take off like Lego did. Seems like Godtfred and maybe even Kjeld were the ones responsible for making Lego a real hit. DaveE

Message has 2 Replies:

		Re: Trademark defense doesn't work vs Mega Bloks
(...) Hmm. My mistake. I thought you could renew patents, but I guess not. (...) Those are pretty neat! Dave! (20 years ago, 4-Aug-04, to lugnet.mediawatch, lugnet.general)

		Re: Trademark defense doesn't work vs Mega Bloks
(...) That's only because Mickey Mouse can't be patented. If he could, you'd be able to renew patents by now. Disney would have seen to it. (...) Since TLC only owned the patent on the fully tubed variety, and none of those clones seems to use a (...) (20 years ago, 4-Aug-04, to lugnet.mediawatch, lugnet.general)

Message is in Reply To:

		Re: Trademark defense doesn't work vs Mega Bloks
(...) Goodness. I can think of close to a dozen brands that use some variation of the tubes-and-studs clutch system, so recognition could definitely be a problem! (URL) This item> has been mentioned previously on LUGNET, but it seems relevant to (...) (20 years ago, 4-Aug-04, to lugnet.mediawatch, lugnet.general, FTX)

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