LEGO loses EU trademark case

 

  • LEGO loses EU trademark case

    Posted by Huw, 15 Sep 2010 05:14. Filed under Brickset.

    As has been widely reported on news sites, including BBC News, LEGO has lost its appeal to have its 2x4 brick protected by trademark law.

    Because the patent on the 'stud and tube' connection method expired some time ago, other companies, including M??? B????s, are legally able to produce compatible bricks. LEGO wanted the design of the brick designated a trademark to prevent them from doing so, but yesterday the European Court of Justice upheld the decision made in 2004 to cancel it.

    What does this mean to us fans? Not a great deal, other than the shops will continue to be cluttered up with inferior products, and perhaps LEGO will be forced to keep their prices in check, although there hasn't been any evidence of that so far!

    M???????s and LEGO may well be compatible in as much that they fit together but as we all know that's about as far as it goes: in terms of quality, design and appeal to adults there is no comparison...

    Update: LEGO has published their own press release on this now.


    72 comments, latest one posted 32 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
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Comments

Posted by Lego Minifig Man in Canada, 15 Sep 2010 06:11

Wow. Well, I guess it's not SO bad, as mentioned in the article.

Posted by trfislegomad in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 06:21

LEGO and M........ may be compatable in the loosest of terms but thats the closest they come to competing. Still trying to find a use for the odd M........ I find littered within second hand purchases of lego as I don't wont to clutter the land fill sites with them, lol.

Posted by ensign_dave in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 06:49

LEGO & M???????s there is normally no comparison - except where their new Thomas the tank engine sets are concerned. So much cheaper and more playabilty than the DUPLO sets. LEGO need to consider this and stop overpricing sets (Slave 1 & Hagrids hut anyone!?).

Posted by Ulli in Germany, 15 Sep 2010 07:23

I think TLC has to decide now which way they continue to go!
Either the high quality we are used to, to make a difference from competitors, or the "chinese quality" they show up with in the Minifig-Series!
In the last case, it will not take long until TLC will be one the same bad level, than the other companys, and we all have to look for another hobby :-(

Posted by JRabon1600 in United States, 15 Sep 2010 07:23

Probably because the studs are a functional element of the brick, and thus couldn't be trademarked.

Posted by Jarod98 in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 07:37

This is just ripped, at least I own a little over 25,000 pieces of good Legos. This may mean the prices of old Lego pieces will rise since they're not being made any more (but we'll have to wait for 10 years or so before that happens. And since their pieces look the same Lego and Mega Blocks should combine and make Lego Blocks.

P.S. Does this mean Legos will be recalled?

Posted by duilim in Australia, 15 Sep 2010 07:43

Lego and M B? There's no comparison when it comes to quality, function and design. Any man and his dog can tell the difference between the two. Even with this verdict, Lego's got nothing to worry about......

Posted by J. B. in United States, 15 Sep 2010 07:55

I find trademark/legal issues with LEGO vs. Others very interesting. Is there a book about all the trademark issues, etc? If there was, I'd buy it!

Posted by agentminky in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 08:15

I don't actually think this is such a big problem, personally. I don't think that you can trademark the Lego system any more than you can trademark a wooden building block. That said, I'm hardly ecstatic this inevitable results in brands like M???Bloks. I hope Lego continues with its current standard of quality and service despite this, but I don't think this will be that huge a problem either: Lego has had to compete with M???Bloks for a while in Europe.

To reply to Jarod98, don't worry about that! Lego still have the right to produce sets: it's just that M???Bloks also have that right. You should be able to continue using all your Lego, and, if you want to, add to it with new sets.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 08:26

@Jarod, it's worse than that. All LEGO is being recalled and it will be illegal to own it. Being seen in public with LEGO bricks, or worse still, being a trader, will result in a prison sentence. Talking about it is now outlawed as well. That's why Brickset moved to a new server in a Baltic state so as to avoid being shut down.

(just kidding... :) )

Posted by Brickman193 in Australia, 15 Sep 2010 09:03

To collect LEGO, to own it, play with it and display it to endorse a quality product... M??????s are just cheap, crappy rip offs... down here in Australia, LEGO commands two or four rows of shelves in a normal store. The inferior opposition sits on usually one, or half of that.

Posted by Super Robot Wars in Ireland, 15 Sep 2010 09:52

Gghrrhhhh! I hate M???? B????, I was really hoping Lego would win the lawsuit. I remember the first time I got M??? B???? as a present (no way would I buy or endorse M????? B????) and I hated it >: (! M???? B??? were awful they felt like cheap plastic, some bricks didn't even click together! Though, it looks like Lego isn't really losing any money because of them, hopefully Lego will put an end to M??? B????.

Lego for Life

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 09:59

It's interesting to note that when you Google M???b????s not one fan site comes up. The stuff sells, but only to cost-consious gift-givers that don't know any better. Nobody buys it for themselves, once they've seen the shoddy quality.

Better go careful here, or the site will be the target of its own, libel, lawsuit :-)

Posted by legoDad42 in United States, 15 Sep 2010 10:03

I think this was an issue of the 'graphic' of the 2x4 brick? Not the actual production of physical bricks, etc.
Basically saying other clone brand companies can use a '2x4' brick graphic on their packaging. I think that was the extent of the case.
I don't think Lego would cut back anymore on quality which is their standard and sets them apart as top dog on the toy market. That would be foolish on their part. I see no drop off from them anytime soon.

On a side note...I gives thanks to MegaBl@#$ because it was the first building block model my son ever got (that's right Huw, it was gift and it was cheap...;) and we enjoyed putting together a Proseries Helicopter (believe it or not it held together tight and no parts fell of during play). At the time we all thought these models were all 'Lego' but when I went to the toy store to see if we could find another model....I realized...ahhh...LEGO is another brand and dangit...it was so much better in quality and especially the designs of the kits. MegaBl@#$ seems simplier/less creative while Lego was a helluva' lot more interesting and of couse wonderfully designed and brick quality vastly superior. So thank you MegaBl@#$ for leading me and my son into the LEGO nation!

Posted by Doctor Leg O'Brick in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 11:02

As Huw says, what happens next? A hole load of people have copied lego, some of witch is just.....well, best way to say is it brings horror to a lego lovers hart. Best lock, (yack) m@>~£$!/?s (YOU RIPED ME OF!), play alot (who the what the), toy depot (blurop) are to name a few. But what about best lock who have a brick for their logo?? Why have lego not that thowed the book of rules at them?? @~#!"£^*s should give up on the battle, if not i bet you tabletown will send the nukes flying with TLG. Who knows what will happen next after the dust settles.....

DR.L.O.B

Posted by Darthblaker74744 in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 11:06

I didn't know that M@*?!# b?!*@# were made in Canada I bought a m@*?!# b?!*@# set once and after realising what I did i threw it out my bedroom window. I absolutely loathe the way m@*?!# b?!*@# are made and how their figures dont have the same bodies. I <3 LEGO!!!!!

Oh and in all shops that sell construction toys all the inferior brands should be in a 'seedy' back room and LEGO should be on a solid gold podium (lol but serious)

Posted by Markey in Belgium, 15 Sep 2010 11:22

Lets hope this is a wake up call to LEGO so they realise they might get some kind of competition from mega sucks from now on. I doubt it'll make much difference tbh, but we'll see. LEGO will have to keep making quality products (unlike the cheap looking minifigs) and hopefully lower their prices.

Posted by cjg in United States, 15 Sep 2010 11:27

@Huw: Actually, there is a M$#!B$^&*s forum. I saw it when I was searching for a Lego thing. It's kind of funny because they're always bashing Lego. :P

Posted by the_culture in United States, 15 Sep 2010 11:53

"The court application was not for the right to manufacture and sell LEGO® bricks or other bricks but exclusively for the right to register a three-dimensional image of the red eight-stud brick as a trademark."

Yeah, LEGO wanted to register the image, and not just for marketing reasons.

“It is naturally a matter of concern to us that use of the brick by others can dilute the trademark. But the worst aspect is that consumers will be misled. Analyses show that 40-60% of shoppers believe they are buying a LEGO product when in fact they are purchasing a different product. Shoppers can see there is a different name on the box – but they believe it is a product line or company owned by us,” says Peter Kjær."

Makes total sense. I'm shock they didn't get this ruling.

Posted by martiger in United States, 15 Sep 2010 12:01

great news. It's 2010 and customers has right to have choice without court order. NONE of the monopil is not good for us.
Hoply soon we see on the market new highl quality plastic bricks.
Im a big fan of legos bricks but Im also have a brain so I am not blind fanatic of LEGO Co.
Many of the lego prices are to expensive like base plates $15! Hoply we will have a choise.
Now after court decision the way became open. Now LEGO will need to think more about customers then financial profits. No wonders they increase profits last year. They increace incredible prices. Like previous passanger train was for $79 now is $129!

Posted by Jarod98 in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 12:07

@Huw - lol, at first I was like what?! until I read the "(just kidding... :) )".

Posted by Doctor Leg O'Brick in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 12:16

@cjg, how foolish, a MEGA BLOCKS forum! And to think that they have fans that say lego is for the bin! Their the ones with the impure block! Yes my friends, DEATH TO THE MEGA BLOCKS and long live lego!!!

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 12:24

@Doctor Leg O'Brick Seconded.
I was once given a M!£$ B%&*@ Battleships Destroyer. It lay gathering dust until I finally opened it up and found the pieces would't go together and wouldn't come apart after and the instructions ridiculously difficult to follow. I have given them a wide berth since then and instructed any potential gift buyers to make sure it has the red LEGO logo on the box. LONG LIVE LEGO
Huw: Can you put LONG LIVE LEGO on the Brickset header?!?!
Someone should compose a LONG LIVE LEGO ANTHEM:-)

Posted by masterX244 in Germany, 15 Sep 2010 12:26

@Doctor Leg O'Brick - THe customers (like us brickset users are much harder (if not impossible)to get away from Lgo to M*******s! If weboycott them hard enough they are at the end of "expansion". We have to be careful enough that we didnt fall in the trap with "misplaced" M*******s Saw two or three of them directly in front of a lego-stack (*wishing the three packs to the hell*)!

Posted by mkoesel in United States, 15 Sep 2010 12:45

@legoDad42

"I think this was an issue of the 'graphic' of the 2x4 brick? Not the actual production of physical bricks, etc.
Basically saying other clone brand companies can use a '2x4' brick graphic on their packaging. I think that was the extent of the case."

+1000

This case has nothing to do with whether other companies have the right to produce Lego clones or toy bricks with interlocking studs and tubes. That much has been allowed for some time now and there was never any chance that was going to change.

This ruling is actually taking things a step further and saying that the competition can actually use the same red brick that Lego uses as a trademark as a logo on their boxes and advertising media. In this way, consumers will be even more apt to think that these competing products are actually Lego.

It's really a surprising situation to me, and I don't see why this should now be allowed. It stops just short of allowing the competitors to use the Lego name. Thankfully, though, that could never really happen as long as Lego protects it. Hence, that's why they won't allow people to use the word in a generic sense such as for their own website. They don't want the trade name to become common language and therefore lose their brand identity.

Posted by legomaniac in United States, 15 Sep 2010 13:23

LEGO always has the most customers and fans anyway. Every ebay bulk brick purchase, I just toss those MB bricks in the can.

Posted by knuclear200x in United States, 15 Sep 2010 13:52

I have never bought a Lego-competitor product in my entire life...but knowing now that the other company's products are compatible and no longer under a lawsuit, I feel like now is a good time. I mean "they" have Halo, Iron Man, and heck, Pokemon and they LOOK GOOD. If anything, I'm not converting...or even buying those discount brands you see between a Lego and Mega section at the TRU. I'm just branching out into a new horizon. I probably cant get Pokemon though, cuz thats a Japan brand. And though they may have lost the 2x4, they still have the minifigs or something.

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 15 Sep 2010 14:33

I have a M*** B***** set. DON'T BUY. The bricks are too stiff; they don't attach very easily! The minifigs... Oh please, not the minifigs! The hands break! Yeah! The legs, arms, head and arms are stiff... Simply HORRIBLE!!! Hang on, I reported the news first! Oh well...

Posted by Zwing in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 14:56

I got a m********s set once as a present (this happened at christmas when I asked for REAL lego) and the most fun I got out of it was dropping it from the top of the stairs to see how strong it was :) But seriously, the arms of the 'figures' (or whatever they are) kept falling off, the 'pieces' broke all the time and millions of other things you might already know. All I can say is GO TO HELL M********S!!! :)

ps: whoever created this m********s forum was drunk as well as everyone who joined it :) :)

Posted by C-Fish in United States, 15 Sep 2010 15:24

Uh-huh... What about bricks other than 2x4?

Posted by Orange Lemons in United States, 15 Sep 2010 15:34

This is not factual, but for a guess, I'd say 99% of, dare I say the company's name, Megabloks, are probably either gift shoppers who wanted to get a cheap gift or those who confused generic companies with actual LEGO brand bricks.

What pushover company would want a picture specifically of a red, 2x4 brick WITH tubes on the bottom THAT YOU CAN'T SEE ON THE PACKAGE when that's been LEGO's thing for years! I guess they want to confuse consumers, but we know the difference! Might as well have a lawsuit over a crayon picture or something like that.

Posted by diehardlegofan in United States, 15 Sep 2010 15:46

That's okay, LEGO! I STILL LOVE YOU!!

Posted by Yankeesboy08 in United States, 15 Sep 2010 15:53

I will NEVER give up my legos

Posted by Darthblaker74744 in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 16:02

theirs gunna be a war between lego and M*** B***** in the future (Lego will win) mabye it may become some sort of cult?

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 16:05

I wonder how many people buy M!£$ B#%&* for themselves/on purpose? I expect most of them are well intentioned gift buyers who haven't a clue that there's even a difference!

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 16:23

It seems I was mistaken, legocoastguard has unearthed a M???b????s forum, http://bloks.hyperboards.com/index.php. They seem quite pleased about the ruling over there :-)

Posted by Darthblaker74744 in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 16:25

I new some one (An enemy) who used to play with M!£$ B#%&* I might get some and destroy it on various ways and upload videos on youtube (though i don't like to waste money)

Posted by Doctor Leg O'Brick in United Kingdom, 15 Sep 2010 16:38

Hay doctor sinister, how about you get tabletown to join in!! I find that if get all those ugly witchs to make a portal to hell, aka mega town, send the nukes, jack stone, galidor, ben 10 and flufy the three headed dog in....job done!

Posted by Freezdried in United States, 15 Sep 2010 17:14

LEGO was bound to lose this case. At least, it would if it pursued this case in the US. Here, whenever you own a utility patent on something, you pretty much can't have a valid trademark for the design. That said, I'm pretty sure LEGO consumers can tell the difference between LEGO bricks and bricks made by other companies. I, for one, will continue to buy exclusively from LEGO.

Posted by j25727 in United States, 15 Sep 2010 17:53

has lego put a copyright/trademark on the minifig design, cuz i saw a competitive company with a figure design that looked an awful lot like a minifig, and Lego is way better that any of the other building block brand because of its quality and its age, M????? B???? has horrible quality bricks, and hasnt been around for near as long, i admit that their HALO theme is really cool, but they have a very small variety of themes, other than lego tho, witch has things like school room themes to star wars

Posted by brandobond in Canada, 15 Sep 2010 18:48

Me and some friends were talking about our lego collections. One friend said he grew up playing with M???????s and we all laughed at him. What a sad childhood. Even as a kid I realized that they were poor quality and didn't fit together right. It is amazing they are still in business. All of there sales likely come from people mistaking their products for lego.
@Huw: I can't believe that forum even exists. It is like some sad, bizarro universe.

Posted by Ypres in Canada, 15 Sep 2010 18:52

Well I guess that means the judge's kids play with Megablocks!!!

Who in their right mind wouldn't side with Lego?! Courts are worse off than the government! LOL! From what I read it's basically one court ruling just agreeing with the previous one... and so on. I wonder if any judge actually saw what lego was presenting. That survey of up to 40-60% of "buyers thinking they're buying Lego (or owned by) products" and are getting crap, is enough to make me break the keyboard.

I've always hated stupid Mega*Bleep* and their braindead creator. I can quite easily break a flat 2-4 in my fingers. I also recall finding some blocks on the ground and they fit perfect with lego!!!

Well no direct harm to Lego... but still they'll lose customers.

Posted by legoDad42 in United States, 15 Sep 2010 22:08

@j25727...I saw something like that too. Maybe it's the one you're talking about (?)...Target had it with near the MegaBloks stuff and it was a miniset of Nascar racing cars and drivers. The mini-figures look pretty close to LEGO at first glance. I can see a lot of people picking these up as gifts and such thinking it's just the same as LEGO. And like I mentioned before, when we got our first building block toy a couple years back, I thought it was all LEGO till I saw the difference when I went to the toy store to get another kit. A casual buyer can pick up the cheaper brand, but truth be told...with Target, there prices for MegaBloks is not that much cheaper than LEGO so I think people in general will prefer LEGO after all.

Posted by Schmopiesdad in United States, 15 Sep 2010 22:46

This exchange is fascinating. Obviously there is a remarkable and unmistakable distinction between LEGO blocks and any other imitators. Legodad42 and mkoesel have added clarity to the issue. Now, I can't help but wonder what we should do. I have a proposition that is doomed to failure, but I will offer it anyway. Every LEGO aficionado should buy one cheap M***B***** set if they have never owned one. Then, if we really believe they are crap, individually we should all commit to spread the word in an independent manner as to how inferior these wannabe products are. Find any and every avenue you possibly can to decry the comparatively horrendous quality of these leeches. One of the great advantages we all have is the distance LEGO has maintained from its fan base. They could never undertake such an effort, but we can. Go viral. Post on YouTube. Go on Facebook. Tweet to your peeps. Complain to your local retailer. Write to the corporate offices of major distributors. Leave sticky notes on store displays. Take out ads in newspapers. Don't rest until the alien invaders have been annihilated--ok, I may have gone too far, but I think you get the idea. We, as free and independent consumers, have far more power than any court or corporation if we choose to act. If not, shut up and accept the consequences. And don't be naive. This ruling is bad for LEGO and it is bad for all LEGO fans. One more thing--Martiger, can you please edit your own comments?

Posted by Markey in Belgium, 16 Sep 2010 03:29

The M********S forum has already ten pictures of a 2x4 brick on their forum!

Posted by richselby in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 05:07

Legal action at the top level of the EU didn't come cheap. Maybe that was one of the drivers behind the recent price hikes?

I'm glad TLG lost the case. Trademarks are not for functional designs, that's what patents are for. Lego's selling point should continue to be through quality of design. Let the other brands have the cut-throat end of the market to themselves. But if the price of Lego sets fall a bit as a consequence, then we all win.

Posted by UKver2.0 in United States, 16 Sep 2010 10:11

I've never so much as touched a M??@B!?©?, but I did have some blocks branded with the name Tyco. I have no memory of them being different from Lego in functionality or quality, but I hated when they got mixed in with my Lego pieces. Their plates were half the height of a brick instead of a third, which was annoying and the pips had smooth tops. The plus side was that they had these really flat plate-like pieces with pips on the top and bottom which I though were pretty slick at the time.

I'm a bit skeptical that the quality is so far off, but not enough to risk buying some M??@B!?©?s. I did notice that a lot of their sets are not brick built. More like traditional plastic toys with a few removable parts. Is that generally true or was I just looking at a limited sampling?

Posted by cjg in United States, 16 Sep 2010 11:23

@Huw: That was the same one I was talking about. When ever I find a M***B**** mixed in with my Legos, I smash it with a hammer. It's actually really fun! lol

Posted by THE BLACK KNIGHT in United States, 16 Sep 2010 12:06

I hate M***B**** we buy a lot of legos from Garage Sales and always find a few straggling M***B****'s we just them in the trash can and then toss the can into a toxic waste dump:) M***B****s are the worst quality ever!

Posted by Jarod98 in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 12:11

@Ypres - Don't use the MB word!!! (let's hope there isn't a M***B***** curse)

Posted by THE BLACK KNIGHT in United States, 16 Sep 2010 12:53

Did some one acctualy say it real M***B**** word.

Posted by andy8818 in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 13:09

all of us that have a mb product lying around should post it off to lego so they can melt it down and create something out of whats left if possible send it off to mb and tell them this is what we think of your cheap nasty crappy LEGO CLONED PRODUCT,but seriously lego have nothing to worry about this is a trademark issue not about selling products in the millions for lego compared to thousands for mbs diseased copy look how long lego has been with us, bet theres not many of us who cant remember the joy of their first lego set and their latest the key word is QUALITY something which mb dont understand the meaning of just look how awful their injection moulded finish is compared to the clean shiny crisp finish of a lego piece quality every single time and lego have too vast of a product and pick a brick range for mb ever to compete with and lego designers are at the forefront of designing sets to build out of our beloved brick ok mb have iron man and halo in their stable but look what the name lego pulled in star wars, harry potter and indy just to name three LEGO the name says it all they dont need the trademark because we all know where the quality lies and which of the two which makes us happiest at the end of the day and because we also know not only is it THE WORLDS BEST TOY BUT ITS ALSO THE MOST CREATIVE AND THATS WHAT REALLY INSPIRES US THE MOST ABOUT LEGO AND THATS WHY WE WILL BUY IT AND KEEP IT THE WORLDS NUMBER 1 TOY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 16 Sep 2010 14:15

Just ONE positive thing about M*** B*****: Its bricks have ROUNDED edges. They don't have sharp edges. So no cut fingers! :) Oh wait, forgot about the quality... LEGO is BY FAR the best! :)

Posted by legominifig221 in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 14:30

@andy8818 - I agree m*** b***** are rubbish

Posted by Zwing in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 14:33

@anyone with a m******** 'set' - make a army of your lego figures and make to DESTROY YOUR M********!!!!! and make a video of it :) :) :)

Posted by Alemas in Germany, 16 Sep 2010 16:00

@Zwing: Hm! Good idea! :)

Posted by finger2314 in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 16:27

Guess what I found!! http://bloks.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=2946
Proof of megab%^%s quality!! One of THEM admitted the appalling quality of their own obsession! HA!! lol

Posted by Zwing in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 16:32

@Alemas - another use could be to send the m******** to the bin like mine did LOL
PS: the only reason I had a m******** 'set' was because it was a present (I would NEVER buy any)

Posted by Matthew in United Kingdom, 16 Sep 2010 16:47

@ Mikey Did you notice on the M*** B**** forum the logo which uses 2x4 bricks is structurally wrong and would just fall over :-)

Posted by gonzilla in United States, 16 Sep 2010 18:22

hi guys - I'm a LONG-TIME lego fan and i enjoy other construction toys too. i just wanna suggest that at the other forum for m**b** products there isn't quite as much bashing as i'm seeing here. there was one post about the ruling and a follow-up comment but no one was exactly celebrating the 'trademark' ruling.
at the m**b** forum there are both positive and negative reviews about lots of different companies (let's face it, there are pros and cons to just about everything in life). let's play well, folks!

Posted by LEGOCityManiac11 in United States, 16 Sep 2010 18:27

I think M???? B?????? are really stupid. I also think they are total copies. They should be sued. So should K'nex.

Posted by legobob in United States, 16 Sep 2010 19:20

lego copiers, megablok, best-lock, kids connect ... here.s a comparison:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Comparitive-study-of-studded-construction-bricks/

Posted by LobsterWarrior in United States, 16 Sep 2010 21:51

Grrr..I hate M***B*****. First of all, my cousin thinks his cheap rip-off of LEGOs is LEGO, I don't even think the box had a brand on it! When I played with those "Legos", the legs were cheap and everything was poor quality. I tried explaining to him that it wasn't real LEGOs by comparing a real minifig and one of theirs. He wouldn't budge. I hate those rip offs of LEGO.

Posted by bluemoose in United Kingdom, 17 Sep 2010 06:58

Over the years I've met a few people who sincerely believed that 'MegaBloks' was Lego's own line of budget bricks. :-(

Posted by LeGoB12A21 in Canada, 17 Sep 2010 08:22

I have one reason to hate my country: M*** B***s started in Canada!! LEGO is wayyyyyyyyyy better in quality even by looking at the 2 products in a picture!!!Now that is sad....I can`t believe its in top 10 most popular toy in Canada(LEGO is probaly in fist spot : ) )

Posted by UKver2.0 in United States, 17 Sep 2010 09:34

@finger2314 -- That post was more about the effects of cleaning bricks in a washing machine. I would assume the same thing would happen to Lego products. As a matter of fact, one of the posters in that thread said the same thing DID happen with their Lego bricks.

I once tried cleaning some Lego toys (that I got off eBay) using too harsh of a chemical (floor cleaner). It completely destroyed the finish. Would you say that that is a testament to Lego's quality? Personally, I chalk it up to my own stupidity.

Posted by daniel c. in United States, 17 Sep 2010 14:56

Okay, I'll admit it: I actually don't mind Megabloks at all. In fact, at one point, I actually purchased several Megabloks Dragons sets, and I have experimented with Lego/MB fusion MOC's from time to time. I personally find that all the venom directed towards MB is very unwarranted - while it is true that they still aren't quite as good as Lego, their part quality and set designs have been improving. Their Halo Reach sets are probably the best products they've made yet, and if I was a major Halo fan, I probably would pick some of them up. As it current stands, I don't own any Megabloks, but I also don't have a problem with their products being sold next to Lego's own products. More importantly, I find TLC's continued attempts to end the sale of "clone bricks" very disapointing, when they could be using the money poured into lawsuits to improved areas of their own company (such as their rapidly declining color consistency). It's sad that they think they have to eliminate the competition in this way, rather than striving to be the continued king of construction products.

Also, I find the "censoring" of the word Megabloks in these commenets rather silly, to be honest. I haven't ever seen people do it with words like "Oxford" or even the notorious "Shifty," but the second the word "Megabloks" comes up, people start recoiling in sheer horror. :P

Posted by legoDad42 in United States, 17 Sep 2010 22:06

@legobob...good link! Thx for that. Gives a nice comparison of different brick qualities. Besides being a better brick quality, LEGO is tops for their vast variety of pieces compared to the competitors and of course they're artist/designer/builders are tops in the business as far as creativity goes.

And to everyone that thinks LEGO should sue other companies, let's pause, breath and give thanks and praise to Hilary Page.

Posted by Murdoch17 in United States, 18 Sep 2010 21:26

I HAD several Mega Blocks sets at one time. (ONLY Pirates of the Carribean II) I'm not going to rant & rave about how much we should crush the LEGO Clones. I'm also not going to take the Block's side. I'm saying this: everyones got a right to make a living, right? Whether it be LEGO or Mega Blocks, every ones got to make their way in the world. So if they want to do their own version of a 2x4, let them be. If the companies say "We are the real LEGO, buy us", when they are not, that's not good for BOTH companys. I think that using the LEGO Logo (or a variation there of) is stealing. BUT: using their own products or bricks under their own logo is okay. Mega Blocks is not stealing anything, so LEGO should not try to squish them. Let's just just call this a draw, and move on to a better and brighter future.

Posted by Don in Canada, 20 Sep 2010 12:00

As much as I love LEGO, this is excellent news!

Posted by Jarod98 in United Kingdom, 21 Sep 2010 09:46

@Don - Why?

P.S. I actually had a M--- B----- set. But, if they made a movie about what I did to it (it was a "Lego" present) it would be NC-17 (no children under 17 permitted)!

Posted by LobsterWarrior in United States, 24 Sep 2010 00:55

@Jarod98

My cousin got a huge "LEGO" set, when it was actually one of those cheap rip-offs. I honestly know they're trying to copy it because the legs and body and everything seemed LEGO style. I try to talk my cousin out of thinking that's a real LEGO, but he won't budge.

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