Fake Lego toymaker taken down in China

[doug72]

See:- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48076505

[efferman]

Yesterday was a wonderfull day with killing this plagiator.

[LucyCol]

Interesting news item from the BBC, could this be a signal that counterfeiters will no longer have it so easy?

[1gor]

That is deffenetly step forward, but there is a long way to go; lepin is not the only one...

[Vindicare]

I hope this is the first of many articles like this. It’s kinda shocking to see the pictures of all those piles of pieces, boxes, and molds...and it’s only the tip of the iceberg. 

[MxWinters]

I saw this earlier on the beebs website. Great news for LEGO. Let's hope China take this kind of fraud more seriously.

[Peppermint_M]

Lepin were the worst offenders, it is no surprise that they were smashed (somewhat literally).

I wonder if this will mean Enlighten will clean up their act? Unlike the bad old days, they do produce their own unique designs for themes and sets for a few product lines. However t is undeniable that some of "their" sets are direct copies of past LEGO releases. Though Enlighten do tread carefully with the branding of boxes etc. 

Time will tell I suppose.

[nerdsforprez]

Website is still up but no one can make an order 

[TeriXeri]

I saw this also posted on a local news website and many people actually were defending said company and blaming LEGO for being overpriced, was a shame to read.

Comments of quality, safety (chemicals), copyright, were blatantly ignored due to price.

Edited April 27, 2019 by TeriXeri

[Johnny1360]

1 hour ago, TeriXeri said:

I saw this also posted on a local news website and many people actually were defending said company and blaming LEGO for being overpriced, was a shame to read.

Comments of quality, safety (chemicals), copyright, were blatantly ignored due to price.

Kind of funny, every time I mention LEGO to non-fans they also say "Legos are so expensive" and it seems to be pointless to explain the value or bargain hunting aspect of it. They have their minds made up, it's just too expensive. 

I am glad to see this company getting taken down a notch and I hope it happens more often in the future. 

I have nothing against competition between legit companies, as it usually means lower prices and more variety but this company is pure scum and flagrantly rips off not only LEGO but MOC builders who often offer free instructions. 

[Mylenium]

17 hours ago, efferman said:

Yesterday was a wonderfull day with killing this plagiator.

Nobody was killed. Don't be naive! They're coming back under a different name.

Mylenium

7 hours ago, Johnny1360 said:

I hope it happens more often in the future. 

Unlikely. After all, it took LEGO eleven years to even get this minor "victory" taking it through several courts. And law being what it is, the whole song and dance simply starts anew when the company resurfaces under a different name... My 2 Cents.

Mylenium

[allanp]

21 minutes ago, Mylenium said:

Nobody was killed. Don't be naive! They're coming back under a different name.

Loser?

 

[Mylenium]

7 minutes ago, allanp said:

Loser?

Care to elaborate?

Mylenium

[allanp]

24 minutes ago, Mylenium said:

Care to elaborate?

I was thinking what their new name could be. They'll probably have to design their own branded minifigure. Here's one they can use.

[62Bricks]

Interesting spin that China is putting on the story (and the BBC apparently is just repeating without checking?)

"Police in China have uncovered a gang accused of manufacturing and selling $30m (£23m) worth of counterfeit Lego."

A "gang?" Really? Makes it sound like a few thugs molding fake bricks in a secret back room. They're a big manufacturing plant.

"In October 2018, the Shanghai police found that Lepin building blocks available on the market were extremely similar to that of Lego," police said.

October 2018? Really? Wasn't it about three of four years ago when they started flooding Alibaba? And they just "discovered" it?

[Mylenium]

43 minutes ago, 62Bricks said:

A "gang?" Really? Makes it sound like a few thugs molding fake bricks in a secret back room. They're a big manufacturing plant.

Agree. There's a lot of misinformation and false interpretations of the underlying legal case being thrown around across different media.

Mylenium

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, 62Bricks said:

"In October 2018, the Shanghai police found that Lepin building blocks available on the market were extremely similar to that of Lego," police said.

October 2018? Really? Wasn't it about three of four years ago when they started flooding Alibaba? And they just "discovered" it?

 

The Lawsuit was solved around that time (November 6 press release), so maybe they had no grounds to take action before that.

February 2019 we got the announcement that LEGO is opening 80 new Brand Stores in China so a big shift toward pro-LEGO.

Edited April 28, 2019 by TeriXeri

[LEGO Historian]

11 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

 

The Lawsuit was solved around that time (November 6 press release), so maybe they had no grounds to take action before that.

February 2019 we got the announcement that LEGO is opening 80 new Brand Stores in China so a big shift toward pro-LEGO.

WOW!!  Hope that is true... 80 stores.  I imagine that the way toys are sold in China, that TLG is having some issues with getting their product to market there... or just that it's such a vast untapped market.  China has over 350 million people (last time I checked) that are middle class.

I'm converting my Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide to a 9 volume book series (translated to simplified Chinese) for the Chinese market (have a publisher)... so 80 new LEGO stores is good news for me!!  

Also, my online computer desktop guide is still available (see my post attachment below)... with updates to 2019 coming later this year.... and will also be sold in a 9 volume book form in English. 

... thanks to my LEGO friend collector network of 100+ LEGO friends worldwide, as well as the Billund Archives.... for all the images and history.

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by LEGO Historian

[Hive]

They sadly already re-launched under the name 'NUOGAO'...

People buying their knock-off actual LEGO sets are just as guilty as the company itself. Despicable.

[Witold]

That was a happy day for me, hope they will close down another fake Lego companies.

[ShaydDeGrai]

I can't get over the tone of the article.  Discovering a gang of bootleggers makes it sound like these guys were working out of a basement somewhere and selling their products out of the trunk of a car that never showed up at the same place twice, not a $30M operation that's been advertising their crap globally on the web for years.  What is their next big discovery going to be? Middle East exports oil?  Ocean water found to contain salt?  

Given the long history of cheap knock-offs and IP infringement in so many areas (toys, videos, games, fashion, cosmetics, etc.) I find it hard to believe that a) they didn't know exactly what was going on for years, and, b) this isn't just a token gesture with very little long term consequence for the "real" major players behind the scenes.  Maybe its a bad analogy, but to me it feels like when the DEA holds a press conference to brag about a "major" drug bust that nabbed a suitcase-full of product and a few wads of cash that looks impressive right up until you realize that the cartel can afford to lose a hundred such shipments before it even makes a dent in the supply chain.  Its better than them taking no action at all, but I have a hard time seeing it as the wave in the global end of fake Lego rip-offs.

[TeriXeri]

2 hours ago, ShaydDeGrai said:

Given the long history of cheap knock-offs and IP infringement in so many areas (toys, videos, games, fashion, cosmetics, etc.) I find it hard to believe that a) they didn't know exactly what was going on for years, and, b) this isn't just a token gesture with very little long term consequence for the "real" major players behind the scenes.  

It's not about not knowing, but about finally being able to take action, after LEGO won the court case only as recent as November 2018 : 

"It is another significant legal victory in China for the LEGO Group in its battle against imitators over the past two years."

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2018/november/lepin-case

LEGO only just recently opened their first Flagship store in Beijing:

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2019/february/beijing-flagship-store/

Clones won't go away, no, but LEGO has gotten a bigger status for sure.

Lego is still regarded #2 most reputable companies in the world :

https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2019/march/global-reptrak-100/

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by TeriXeri