EU court blocks loss of Lego trademark 

(CN) — The European Union’s second-highest court ruled in favor of Danish toymaker Lego for the second time in a trademark dispute over its iconic bricks on Wednesday.

German toy manufacturer Delta Sport Handelskontor failed to show the plastic building blocks don’t meet the criteria for protection, the European General Court held, upholding a decision from the EU Intellectual Property Office.

In 2016, Delta Sport contested the design mark and convinced the intellectual property office to scrap the protection. The General Court overturned that decision in 2021, finding the patent office failed to take into account all of the features of a Lego brick.

In light of the court’s ruling, the patent office scrapped its earlier decision and upheld the 2010 trademark. In 2022, Delta Sport appealed that move, arguing that since the patent office found that some parts of the bricks didn’t qualify for protection, the entire trademark should be dropped.

Judges at the Luxembourg-based court disagreed, finding that only some parts of a product needed to meet the criteria to qualify for a trademark. “If at least one of its characteristics is protected … the design remains valid,” the three-judge panel wrote.

In the earlier decision, Lego successfully argued the intellectual property office had not properly considered that the smooth surface on either side of the row of “studs” was a part of the functional design and not simply an aesthetic choice.

“We welcome the Court of Justice of the European Union’s decision to uphold our registered design. The decision confirms our firm belief that original designs should be protected by legislation from being copied,”  Lego said in a statement.

Delta Sport did not respond to a request for comment.

The decision can be appealed to the Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court.

Lego, who takes its name from the Danish words “leg godt,” meaning “play well,” was founded by a Danish carpenter in 1932, later creating the iconic brick toy. Lego first patented the interlocking toy design in 1958, but in many countries those protections have now expired, and Lego has faced increasing competition from companies making similar toys.

Despite pressure from competitors, Lego is the world’s largest toymaker and pulled in $6.4 billion in revenue in 2021.

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