LEGO: THE EU CONFIRMS THE PROTECTION OF THE ICONIC BRICK

The legal protection of the historic Lego brick was once again questioned before the European Court, which confirmed the validity of the protection for the second time.

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In fact, since 2010 the Lego company has enjoyed design or model protection for the playing brick in Europe, against which doubts of validity were raised by a German company in 2019.

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Following the request for annulment, the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) cancelled the protection stating that all  features of the brick were relevant only for the purposes of assembling or dismantling it.

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However, the EU Court rejected this decision, affirming the validity of the protection of the brick, citing an exception in Union law that protects modular systems.

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In 2022, the same German company appealed to the Court in order to have the protection annulled again, which was instead upheld.

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The Court's decision was based mainly on two aspects.

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First, the Court stated that a design is invalid only if all its features are excluded from protection. In the specific case, the appellant had argued by reference to only some features of the brick.

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Secondly, the German company had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Lego brick lacked the necessary requirements for protection, namely novelty and individuality.

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The solidity of the protection enjoyed by the historic Lego brick was therefore confirmed.