Editing Lego (section)

== Clones ==
{{Main|Lego clone}}

The last significant patent for Lego bricks expired in 1978.<ref name="Time50Years" /><ref name="NYTBlockByBlock">{{cite news |last1=Austen |first1=Ian |title=Building a Legal Case, Block by Block |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/02/business/worldbusiness/02lego.html |access-date=9 March 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 January 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122304/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/02/business/worldbusiness/02lego.html |archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> Since then, competitors have produced blocks of similar dimensions and design that can be connected with Lego bricks.<ref name="NYTBlockByBlock" /> In 2002, Lego sued the [[CoCo (toys)|CoCo Toy Company]] in Beijing for [[copyright infringement]] over its "Coko bricks" product. CoCo was ordered to cease manufacture of the products, publish a formal apology and pay damages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ccpit-patent.com.cn/News/2003041001.htm |title=News |publisher=Ccpit-patent.com.cn |access-date=20 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707025218/http://www.ccpit-patent.com.cn/News/2003041001.htm |archive-date=7 July 2012}}</ref> Lego sued the English company [[Best-Lock|Best-Lock Construction Toys]] in German courts in 2004<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Lock Petitions US Patent Office |url=http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2012/01/best-lock_petitions_us_patent_office_to.html |website=Mass Live |date=30 January 2012 |access-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919071708/http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2012/01/best-lock_petitions_us_patent_office_to.html |archive-date=19 September 2015}}</ref> and 2009;<ref>{{cite web |title=Lego Deleted as a Trademark |url=http://www.markenmagazin.de/pressemitteilung-des-bgh-nr-1582009-legostein-als-marke-geloescht/ |website=Marken Magazine |date=21 July 2009 |access-date=25 August 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001111810/http://www.markenmagazin.de/pressemitteilung-des-bgh-nr-1582009-legostein-als-marke-geloescht/ |archive-date=1 October 2015}}</ref> the [[Federal Patent Court (Germany)|Federal Patent Court of Germany]] denied Lego trademark protection for the shape of its bricks for the latter case.<ref>{{cite web |title=Court Ruling |url=http://juris.bundesgerichtshof.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bgh&Art=en&Datum=Aktuell&nr=32168&linked=pm |website=Bundesgerichtshof |access-date=6 September 2015 |archive-date=28 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028011220/http://juris.bundesgerichtshof.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bgh&Art=en&Datum=Aktuell&nr=32168&linked=pm |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, the Lego Company sued Canadian company Ritvik Holdings Inc., which makes [[Mega Brands|Mega Bloks]], for trademark violation. However, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] [[Kirkbi AG v Ritvik Holdings Inc|upheld Ritvik Holdings Inc.'s rights to sell its product]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lego v. Mega Bloks |url=http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2005/2005scc65/2005scc65.html |website=Canlii |access-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201144544/http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2005/2005scc65/2005scc65.html |archive-date=1 February 2016}}</ref> In 2010, the [[European Court of Justice]] ruled that the eight-peg design of the original Lego brick "merely performs a technical function [and] cannot be registered as a trademark."<ref>{{cite news |title=Montreal's Mega Brands face off in court with Lego |website=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=15 January 2012 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/lego-mega-brands-face-off-in-court/article1358492/ |access-date=6 September 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123094334/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/lego-mega-brands-face-off-in-court/article1358492/ |archive-date=23 January 2016}}</ref>

In 2020 and 2021, Lego sent cease and desist letters to small toy retailers and popular YouTubers in Germany. In 2021, a shipment of bricks delivered by clone producer Qman was blocked from passing through German customs due to concerns over the potential infringement of Lego's intellectual property. The recipient toy retailer initiated an appeal for donations to import containers of Lego clones from China to Germany and donate them to children's homes, which received more than {{currency|350,000|eur}} within a couple of weeks.<ref>[https://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/reportage/pr-desaster-fuer-weltkonzern-lego-bringt-die-treuesten-fans-gegen-sich-auf/26934832.html Lego bringt die treuesten Fans gegen sich auf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305205955/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/reportage/pr-desaster-fuer-weltkonzern-lego-bringt-die-treuesten-fans-gegen-sich-auf/26934832.html |date=5 March 2021 }} {{Lang|de|[[Der Tagesspiegel]]}}, 21 February 2020</ref><ref>[https://orf.at/stories/3202503/ Rumoren in der Lego-Welt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307040837/https://orf.at/stories/3202503/ |date=7 March 2021 }}, orf.at, 6 March 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SROfLs6FPw EXTRABLATT!! LEGO hat mächtig Angst und schlägt wild um sich! Qman soll vernichtet werden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306195457/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SROfLs6FPw |date=6 March 2021 }}, Thomas Panke, 5 March 2021.</ref>