Lego loses trademark status on iconic toy brick

THE Lego brick, one of the most instantly recognised toys in the world, has been stripped of its trademark status by European judges.

The Danish toymaker’s basic red plastic Lego brick, first launched in 1958, was literally the building block for a global toy industry success.

The brick’s three-dimensional shape, with two rows of four studs, was registered as an EU trademark in 1999.

But rival maker Mega Brands, which markets Mega Bloks, successfully appealed to the EU’s trademark office OHIM. The OHIM agreed that a brick was a functional, technical shape which could not be trademarked by any one company.

Yesterday the European Court of First Instance agreed, rejecting Lego’s application for its trademark back.

Lego challenged the idea that functional shapes, such as a brick or any other “industrial design” were necessarily excluded from trademark protection.

Its lawyers claimed Lego contained characteristics that set it apart such as the design and size of the studs on top of the bricks.

But the judges ruled that keeping the Lego trademark on the basic brick design created a monopoly on what amounted to a functional shape which was “necessary to obtain a technical result”. They rejected Lego’s claim that its competitors did not need to copy the shape of the Lego brick to achieve the same “technical solution”.

Lego had submitted surveys showing that most consumers identified the plastic red brick with studs on top as the company’s brand, and that consumer perception had to be taken into consideration when the judges looked at “the essential characteristics of the shape at issue”.

But the judges ruled that consumer perception was not relevant to an analysis of the functionality of the design and that, if it was purely functional, the functional shape had to be available to everyone.

Lego spokeswoman Charlotte Simonsen said she expected the company would appeal the decision to the highest EU court.

“Of course, we’re disappointed,” said Simonsen, speaking from Lego headquarters in Billund, 240km west of Copenhagen. “We expect it will be appealed.”