In the case of Kirkbi AG v. Ritvik Holdings Inc. (aka Lego v Mega Blocks) focus was on Lego bricks. The Lego patent has expired and the bricks are in the public domain. The company however is attempting to stop others from manufacturing similar bricks by claiming trademark infringement.
The Canadian Supreme Court, titled “the court that gets it” by Micheal Geist found the right balance in the case and wrote in its decision:
“In the end, the appellant seems to complain about the existence of competition based on a product, which is now in the public domain. As â??LEGOâ?? and LEGO-style building blocks have come close to merging in the eyes of the public, it is not satisfied with distinctive packaging or names in the marketing operations of Ritvik. It seems that, in order to satisfy the appellant, the respondent would have to actively disclaim that it manufactures and sells LEGO bricks and that its wares are LEGO toys. The fact is, though, that the monopoly on the bricks is over, and MEGA BLOKS and LEGO bricks may be interchangeable in the bins of the playrooms of the nation â?? dragons, castles and knights may be designed with them, without any distinction. “
Ouch! Excellent reasoning. I agree with Micheal any court that spells it out in this way is definately a court that gets it! While I sympathise with Lego for nostaligic reasons it is not enough to give them trademark rights over the shape of every little brick.
While on the topic of bricks take a look at the new stackable Lacie hard drives. In their own words “Professional storage is now easy and fun”. The image above shows the Lacie harddrives. Something about toys for boys springs to mind.