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In lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, Dave Schuler wrote:
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Well, how different does it have to be? I can post detailed pics of the
Cobi/Best-Lock minifig components separated and placed side-by-side with
LEGO equivalents, if that’ll help. I know, for instance,that the shape of
Cobi/Best-Lock is different (can’t hold a 1x1 round from beneath, for
example), and the shape of the arm is subtly different otherwise AFAIK.
What’s the threshold for “too similar” in shape?
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I believe that the major similarity is scale. More on this below.
<snip>
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Isn’t part of that LEGO’s fault, though? Mega Bloks doesn’t market itself
as LEGO, and I’ve never seen a single store flyer or promotional that equated
the two. If a consumer can’t tell a Harley from a Honda, is that Honda’s
fault? I’m asking sincerely--to what length must a product go to ensure that
no one thinks that it’s something else?
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Surely you are not implying that it is just as easy to distinuish a red Mega
Bloks 2x4 brick from a red LEGO 2x4 brick as it is a Honda from a Harley!
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But it’s still an accusation that needs to be borne out, because it
unavoidably implies willful deceit. It seems entirely possible to me that
other brands have identified the minifig design as the pinnacle and are
simply using the same configuration. I suspect that’s why all construction
brick toys use a 2x4 brick--it’s the best design.
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I don’t buy that argument for one second. Even if it were the best design,
why use the same metrics? By making their products compatible with LEGO, they
are deliberately confusing the customer. They know only all too well that the
same toy using different measurements wouldn’t sell nearly as well as it would
if it were indistinguishable from LEGO in proportions. They are, in essence,
profiting off TLG’s patents. There is no compelling reason why clones should be
legally allowed to share TLG’s patented metrics. They should be forced to
create their own unique ones.
JOHN
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Cobi/Best-Lock
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| I'm heading off on a business trip in the morning, so I can only give this a real brief reply - (meaning it'll be just as long but I'll have put less thought into it -) (...) I have no objection to clone brands using the same metrics, especially (...) (18 years ago, 11-Jan-07, to lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Cobi/Best-Lock
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| (...) There may be another variable at play in those northern European cases; as far as I'm aware, LEGO maintains a de facto stranglehold on many of the markets there, so competitor brands are denied entry altogether. It seems that LEGO has secured (...) (18 years ago, 11-Jan-07, to lugnet.off-topic.clone-brands, FTX)
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