Lego is no longer trademarked. The blockmaker was unsuccessful in its court case to prove that its distinctive knobs (which, as we all know, connect the blocks to each other, as well as facilitate the attachment of silly putty, peanut butter, etc) were eligible to lock in a trademark, as their true purpose is purely functional.
The reason given is that the brick in question, beloved by millions of children – and adults when no one's looking – worldwide, is a functional, technical shape that is not the unique property of one company.
Lego's patent on its bricks did in fact run out some years ago; in theory, any of us could have a bash at making lookalike Lego.
Well, in theory, yes... though pretenders to the plastic throne will have to contend with a global building-block mindset that equates such a toy with the Lego brand. Just like when you copy a document, you xerox it; and when you clean the floor using a vacuum cleaner, you hoover it-- our association between colored blocks and Lego is such that any imitator (and there have been a few) faces a tough battle indeed.
As a child, my brother and I had Tente blocks. Not sure if these still exist, but I remember their sharp edges, versatile shapes, and more subdued color scheme. I also remember how much it hurt when one swallowed a Tente block.
1 comments:
I don't know why stopped going to the moon.
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