Governor Mister Phes Posted May 7, 2005 Governor Posted May 7, 2005 Inexpensive yes, but also more inferior in quality. Quote
snefroe Posted May 7, 2005 Posted May 7, 2005 mister_phes, SUV stands for Sport Utility Vehiclesnefroe1, I was just trying to show that awarding high punitive damages will not help Lego in preventing IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) infringementssuch as logo, trademark, designs, models... well, in the case of copyrights of audio visual goods, there is a very strict legislation. If Fnac distributes illegal goods, for instance, they will be convicted, even tho Fnac might not even know they've distributed illicit goods... this means, that Fnac has an obligation to check their goods. if they don't, artists' unions have every reason to take on Fnac. Trust me, these things work, if not only because of bad for image... I'm not sure if the problem lies with a lack of decent legislation to protect brands,... I'm afraid the problem for European legislators is this: what makes a product of TLC , "a product of TLC"? what's a typical TLC-set? for anybody who needs to judge a case on copyrights in the branche of construction toys, that must be one of the most difficult questions. Can you have another construction toy like lego, but at the same time, not too much like lego? Think about this very well, because, if you say "No", you will create a monopolist, which is not good for customers,... however, if an organisation uses TLC's trademark, than the answer is very simple: anti-OC legislation will allow any national/international police force to arrest these people and bring them before a judge. Honestly, Europe is doing good on that front... the only help they need is, they need to be informed by the customers about illicit goods. they can't just pick them out, they need a starting point, to some extent, that is... in any case, legislation and punitive measures are part of one system. they need to work together to get good protection against these activities Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 8, 2005 Governor Posted May 8, 2005 I had bought a BRICK set a few years ago, and I can attest to the fact that they are far inferior to LEGO in every way. Ya know how all authentic LEGO pieces have "LEGO" printed on the studs? Do the Brick pieces have "Brick" printed on their studs? Quote
The Middleman Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 LEGO could make billions off of lawsuits against ripoffs, I don't understand why they don't just go out and raze all those blatantly infringing companies. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 8, 2005 Governor Posted May 8, 2005 It wouldn't be as simple as that would it? They've have to pay people to do all that and it takes time and money to build a substaintial case. Then these infringing companies would have their own legal personel to defend them and find loop holes in the system making the whole process take even longer. Quote
The Middleman Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 But once they win, two huge moneymakers go into motion: 1) they get huge damages 2) their sales go up Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 8, 2005 Governor Posted May 8, 2005 Ahhhhhh... But the point I'm making was it might take years before these matters are settled. They may be well razing all these infringing companies for all I know, but its not something that's going to happen over night. Quote
snefroe Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 It wouldn't be as simple as that would it? They've have to pay people to do all that and it takes time and money to build a substaintial case. Then these infringing companies would have their own legal personel to defend them and find loop holes in the system making the whole process take even longer. guys, you have to distinguish two different types of activities: 1) a legitimate company producing construction toys, almost exactly like lego, but not entirely like Lego, (best-lock,...) that's, according to a ruling, perfectly within the law; what we consider to be a "ripp off" is a legal product, unless there's a violation of the copyrights (by using Lego logo, trademarks,...) Nothing TLC can do about that... 2) piracy. this type of crime doesn't have anything to do with TLC as such. What TLC has to do when they find these sets, is to file a case with the anti Organised Crime squad of Denmark/Europol/Interpol,... this does not have anything to do with civil law. However, Lego needs our help to find these fake products, then they can inform the authorities. in the case of the small castle set, the member should have informed Lego, so they could have checked the distributor. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 8, 2005 Governor Posted May 8, 2005 Coko wasn't using LEGO trade marks, their product was deemed to similiar to LEGO. What makes them so different to MegaBloks? Quote
snefroe Posted May 8, 2005 Posted May 8, 2005 Coko wasn't using LEGO trade marks, their product was deemed to similiar to LEGO. What makes them so different to MegaBloks? nothing, probably... the problem here is a lack of consistancy in the ruling of these copyright cases. One judge will say that Megablock and others are copying Lego and therefore should be banned, another judge will say that only Megoblock is too close to lego, others will say whatever they want to... it's extremely difficult to draw a clear line here, however, i would ban every construction toy that has a similar size and shape of bricks as TLC's bricks, because that would be too close to TLC's format. as a producer of construction toys you should stay away from another company's format, or you could be considered as trying to copy lego bricks... Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 8, 2005 Governor Posted May 8, 2005 It all goes back to my point about these things taking time and money to be sorted out hence why things won't change over night. Quote
eDeevo Posted May 9, 2005 Posted May 9, 2005 Ya know how all authentic LEGO pieces have "LEGO" printed on the studs? Do the Brick pieces have "Brick" printed on their studs? Wow, this thread has been going... To answer your question mister_phes, no, the blocks from "BRICK" (or any of the other 'clone' brands I have seen) are not marked with their own logo. I believe that it is obvious that many of these 'companies' are attempting to dupe people into believing they are LEGO because (1) Their cover art is similar (if not the same), (2) Some logos are very similar (Coko & LOGO for example), (3) Their names are equally similar (Coko, Blocko, LOGO, for example), and (4) The blocks are EXACTLY the same size & such. It is these areas that seperate MegaBlocks from all other clones. MegaBlocks cover art is much different, their logo is unique, they print their logo on their 'bricks' & such, and they are far different in design and such from actual LEGO (unlike clones). Although, let me be clear, I detest MegaBlocks with a passion... Life is Good. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 10, 2005 Governor Posted May 10, 2005 MegaBloks are still inferior in quality are they not? When mixed with LEGO blocks they stand out because their colour looks faded and washed out. Well from what I've seen anyway. Quote
eDeevo Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 MegaBloks are still inferior in quality are they not? When mixed with LEGO blocks they stand out because their colour looks faded and washed out. Well from what I've seen anyway. Yes, they are inferior... & their colors do not match well at all with LEGO... I know this because when I buy boxes full of LEGO from Yard Sales, there are typically MegaBlocks mixed in with them... must seperate vile bricks from priceless LEGO... Life is Good. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 10, 2005 Governor Posted May 10, 2005 This colour inconsistency pratically renders the fact that MegaBloks are LEGO compatible no more than a gimmick to make them sell better. Unless of course one was to amass enough MegaBloks of the same colour and only not mix them with LEGO of similiar colour. Quote
tindwcel Posted May 10, 2005 Posted May 10, 2005 I felt I had to chip in... I often buy mixed bags of used Lego at a local car boot sale. When I get home the process of washing, identifying and sorting starts. Typically I will find a small number of MegaBloks. Some of these are of very high quality and are almost indistinguishable from real Lego. I'd even go so far as to say that they are of higher quality than some of the older, faded, Lego bricks I find. It's also an annoyance that NOT all real Lego items have the logo clearly visible on them. I've been caught out by this sometimes and thrown some genuine items into the trash. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 11, 2005 Governor Posted May 11, 2005 Feel free to chip in as much as you like! We'll love you for it. I find that some of the LEGO pieces have the logo written on the under side of them. So if you can't find the logo on top of the stud there seems to be the next best place to look. Then again I'd have no idea where to find the logo on a LEGO horse... Hmmm... This gives me an idea for a thread. Quote
The Middleman Posted May 14, 2005 Posted May 14, 2005 MEGABLOKS can't be shut down because there was a short period of time when LEGO lost its patent for the bricks and a few companies seized the opportunity before LEGO regained the patent. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 15, 2005 Governor Posted May 15, 2005 But we can still blow up all their factories and hinder their production... Quote
eDeevo Posted May 16, 2005 Posted May 16, 2005 None of the patents in the world can buy MegaBlocks a quality product... plain & simple... LEGO owns the market (& after-market it seems as well, just look at eBay *wacko* )... Life is Good. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 16, 2005 Governor Posted May 16, 2005 However, if LEGO's quality was to diminish it might be another story. Quote
eDeevo Posted May 16, 2005 Posted May 16, 2005 However, if LEGO's quality was to diminish it might be another story. I am firm in my optimism that LEGO will never stoop in quality to that of MegaBlocks... perhaps in lame & annoying themes and worthless colors & pieces, but quality will never stoop that low... Life is Good. Quote
Governor Mister Phes Posted May 17, 2005 Governor Posted May 17, 2005 Well since you put it like that I feel soooo much betterer! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.