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LEGO fight Against Chinese counterfeit LEGO
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Comments
The blatant appropriation of the box art would also lend to brand confusion. Admittedly, the standard is closer to: 'I know it when I see it.'
There is no doubt that Lepin is trading on brand confusion. MegaBloks does not.
'Counterfeit' is customarily something sold or provided with an element of fraud or deceit. If someone handed you a $25.00 bill, you probably wouldn't take it. However, if someone gives you a counterfeit $20.00, you probably wouldn't know.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/59212
But there are theoretically at least 10,000 people who want those rejected Ideas sets. If one of these companies decided to start work on sets once they reached 10,000, they could have them ready for market the day that Lego announces if something has passed review or not.
i have bought one of these sets. I convinced myself to buy it based on the rationale id never own the real one. Whilst I can't fault the quality, the clutch, the pieces... It just isn't Lego. I actually feel quite ashamed of myself admitting I own a copy. I didn't bother displaying it. I didn't even enjoy building it. At the end of the day, I still don't have that set and I was naive to think that the copy would fill the hole in my collection. It didn't. If you buy one, it won't fill the gap either. Please don't buy these sets on eBay.
(unless you are considering buying the set I bought, which I'm desperately trying to get shot of now!!!!)
This doesn't mean that I condone blatant IP ripoffs, the same as many on here don't, but it's not us that needs convincing.
The trouble is, as some have mentioned above, with what are (to the newer generation AFOL) obscenely priced retired sets, going for a cheaper price than their modern day equivalent, and not having the money or the long term love of the brand like a lot of older AFOL's do, in this day and age it isn't really that much of a surprise that these sets are selling. And someone must be buying them because they keep bringing them out.
I also find what I think are original mini-scaled buildings (although I doubt so) as well as "future" Mini-Modulars, such as the Pet Shop, Cinema, Bank and a police station! I didn't check if they got the design from MOC.
Charity shop bulk buys are going to be a nightmare in a few years, things are ok now as most of the stuff is from 3 - 5 years ago and is almost always all LEGO.
When the youngsters who have these inferior brand sets hit their dark ages the second hand market will be flooded and, big bulk buy boxes of LEGO will be mixed with this trash or, wore still, not be LEGO at all.
Be vigilant and, destroy any fakery that you find, literally.
its cheaper yeah. but its stolen! the idea behind the product is STOLEN! FACT!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PRODUCT-NEW-4-SETS-NEXO-KNIGHTS-DINOSAUR-MOUNTS-MINIFIGURES-BUILDINGS-BLOCKS/182183691488?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=20150313114020&meid=88edd59b872c4122906e47f1d17cfb0c&pid=100338&rk=4&rkt=5&sd=201611925054
I don't even know what to say about that.
So true...
I am speechless, it seems a bit of a waste of time to plaster the Nexo Knights name across the title, then cross out the name Lego further down the page though.
I really hope that TLG haven't got anything like this in the pipeline as having the copies before the original would be a new low.
100% agree, by the way. Not a counterfeit, per se, but definitely trading on Lego's goodwill in the marketplace.
why do trading standards not target these at toy fairs and the like ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/322181761154?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I would rather watch a video of someone building a #10179 than buy / build a fake anything. I also wouldn't feel guilty and would enjoy it more.
if it's pretty much identical, why not? i'm not gonna pay £4000 for an official one.
Because it is illegal.
Do you want to build the set? Then just bricklink it in the cheapest colors available.
If you want to look at it, good luck, clone brand quality is horrible.
Do you want to own the set? Well, you still won't. You'll just own a forgery. Do people display forgery baseball cards?
And lastly, I said it before, and I'll say it again. This is illegal. You would be supporting crime.
As it is I will be Bricklinking the remaining parts when my Rebrickable build % goes high enough, but that's a time consuming option that not everyone can accommodate.
Anyway, if you are buying for yourself, and have no intention of selling on for a profit, then I don't believe (in the UK) that you are commiting any offence if you didn't know they were breaching IPR?
As I say, please don't abuse me for saying this, it is just a point of view that I think is worth discussion. IMO, I think we should all support LEGO and if these items were not purchased, they simply wouldn't be made, but as most adults in the UK are not AFOLS, they won't care.
In most other areas, many people are happy to own a reproduction. Want the Mona Lisa but haven't got the odd billion looking for a home? Amazon will sell you one for less than the price of the cheapest boxed LEGO set (or probably even a clone set). It simply comes down to being able to enjoy looking (and making) something; the alternative is to go without. That's not much of choice.
To some people, a real Cafe Corner might as well be the same price as the real Mona Lisa - and they'll buy reproductions of both.
If TLG have iconic sets with parts that are only made for a limited period, then somebody else is going to produce them instead. TLG can try fighting it but they're not going to stop it. Yes, somebody else is going to make money out of their ideas.
However, there's a much bigger problem. Even on this forum, there has been a shift in attitudes and some people are prepared to admit to buying clones. That's the thin end of the wedge - once you've got one, the next is not such a big deal, particularly if the clone manufacturers continue to address the quality issues that have given them a bad name. What is going to happen in January 2020 when TLG release their latest modular, and a clone copy appears three weeks later - at half the price.
Producing clone copies of iconic retired sets was inspired. I just hope that TLG have got a similarly inspiring plan on how to deal with the situation. Putting their heads in the sand, claiming the moral high ground, and adding a bit of name-calling would only end in tears.
Abuse about this is just an ostrich approach - arguing against the inevitable, rather than trying to work out how to go forward. It is indeed worthy of discussion.
Unfortunately that tends not to work. What usually happens is that those who want something, like a classic set, might be very scornful of others, yet at the same time justifying their own purchase - "but it's just one". Or two. This month.
If most people in the UK are not AFOLs, who on Earth bought enough copies of the original iconic sets to make their production worthwhile? I also don't think you need to be an AFOL to look at the back of a box and decide you'd like another from the series - it's why the pictures are there! Do it a couple of times in succession and you'll want a set that's ten years old.
Squawking about copyright is merely a distraction which isn't going to stop the march of the clones.
Otherwise, innovation is stymied and progress will take longer or not otherwise occur.
DaVinci should be able to profit from the fruits of his labor. It is a natural step to want to protect the creator as well - thus criminal and civil penalties.
"In the U.S., federal law protecting trademarks makes it illegal to knowingly traffic counterfeit goods, which includes the production, sale and transport of such goods. The U.S. Department of Justice, however, has stated that federal law doesn’t prohibit an individual from buying a counterfeit product for personal use, even if they do so knowingly."
A few years ago, 2 women were sentenced to 36 months in Federal Prison for selling counterfeit purses. It is NOT just a civil matter here in the US; it is a Federal Crime.
More to the point, if the clones put a big label on each side of the box stating "This is not a LEGO set nor does it contain any LEGO pieces", then it becomes an entirely civil matter because there is clearly no element of deception. Whilst the clone manufacturers are using TLG artwork, they don't really try to keep changes in the same style - they're out to sell sets, and win market share, not to convince the naïve that they've found the bargain of the century.
But, as I said, this is a distraction. Most people on this particular forum aren't concerned about whether a few companies end up thumbing their noses at the courts, US or otherwise, nor if TLG end up laughing all the way to the bank with their pockets bulging from legal actions.
They are more interested in what the clone reproductions are going to mean in terms of future sets and parts, both new and re-releases, in the destiny of TLG, and in the value of their own hordes. They are interested in what TLG do as a result of this relatively new threat, and how it's going to affect their hobby.