Subject:
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Re: Blocking And Tackling: A Nasty LEGO Copyright Battle
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.mediawatch
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Date:
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Fri, 3 Feb 2012 05:46:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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23444 times
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In lugnet.mediawatch, Will Middelaer wrote:
> Geller, who runs Hong Kong-based Best-Lock from the west coast of Canada,
> said he decided to become a LEGO competitor in part because he thought it was
> unethical that the Danish firm copied the British bricks invented by Hilary
> Page.
I guess he never heard that they bought the original UK patent during their
1980's scuffle with Tyco. Also, until that purchase, while they may not have
had any grounds to go after anyone who used the basic system (that would have
been up to Page's estate), they did hold a clear patent on many of the
improvements to the standard bricks, most notably just about any variation of
the internal tube design they could think of, and probably the ridges that allow
a TECHNIC pin to lock into the underside of the bricks (that one's more of an
issue for 1x brick designs excepting the 1x1 itself). And while I can't say for
sure about Megabloks or Best-Lock, I know I've seen more than a couple instances
of clone brands on US store shelves with very recently patented LEGO brick
designs, which is a great way to get sued.
Interestingly, Kre-O seems to think they have a way around all of those lawsuits
by doing a mix of hollow and non-hollow studs on the top of every part, so they
can claim that any part that looks like a direct copy really isn't. We'll see
how well that works out for them, I guess.
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Message has 1 Reply:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Blocking And Tackling: A Nasty LEGO Copyright Battle
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| (URL) Courant about ongoing legal battles between Lego, Mega Bloks & Best-Lock. ___...___ It's one of many legal skirmishes that Mega Bloks and now Best-Lock have had with LEGO over the last 20 years, after LEGO's patent protecting the dimpled (...) (13 years ago, 31-Jan-12, to lugnet.mediawatch)
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