Lego's lawsuits against copycat brands - particularly trademark law

[Aethersprite]

Hello! I'm doing a project researching on Lego's lawsuits in enforcing its IP and protecting the Lego brand. In particularly, I'll be focusing on the area of trademark law, which seems to be the area of law that Lego is focusing on in its lawsuits. Using trademark law to protect the Lego brick might sound odd, but to give some brief context, this is because Lego can no longer rely on patent or copyright causes of action. Its patents have expired and the concept of the Lego brick doesn't lend itself to qualify for copyright registration in some countries.

I've compiled a list of many of Lego's cases in the EU, Canada and United States - in particular, I'm also looking for Lego cases in other countries such as Japan, Australia, or China. If you guys have read about any trademark cases in these jurisdictions, or any interesting cases involving Lego's trademarks in general, do let me know!

[Lyichir]

1 hour ago, Aethersprite said:

Hello! I'm doing a project researching on Lego's lawsuits in enforcing its IP and protecting the Lego brand. In particularly, I'll be focusing on the area of trademark law, which seems to be the area of law that Lego is focusing on in its lawsuits. Using trademark law to protect the Lego brick might sound odd, but to give some brief context, this is because Lego can no longer rely on patent or copyright causes of action. Its patents have expired and the concept of the Lego brick doesn't lend itself to qualify for copyright registration in some countries.

I've compiled a list of many of Lego's cases in the EU, Canada and United States - in particular, I'm also looking for Lego cases in other countries such as Japan, Australia, or China. If you guys have read about any trademark cases in these jurisdictions, or any interesting cases involving Lego's trademarks in general, do let me know!

It's worth noting that only SOME of Lego's patents have expired (mainly older ones such as those for the standard brick and minifigure), and they still have active patents for many of their more recent element designs (for instance, the designs for the mini-doll were patented in 2013 and are still protected). Lego does continue to invoke patent law in cases where the patents are still applicable.

[Aethersprite]

13 hours ago, Lyichir said:

It's worth noting that only SOME of Lego's patents have expired (mainly older ones such as those for the standard brick and minifigure), and they still have active patents for many of their more recent element designs (for instance, the designs for the mini-doll were patented in 2013 and are still protected). Lego does continue to invoke patent law in cases where the patents are still applicable.

You're right; I was generalizing a bit in my original post. Right now, what Lego is doing is relying on other means - like copyright, trademark, and registered design - to protect its designs where patents have expired.