Best-Lock
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder | Torsten Geller |
| Headquarters | , England |
Number of locations | 6 |
| Key people |
|
| Products | Toys |
| Subsidiaries | Cobi (part) |
| Website | best-lock |
Best-Lock Construction Toys is a brand of plastic building bricks that are compatible with Lego. Best-Lock Group Limited, which manufacture the bricks, is based in Colne, Lancashire, England.
History
[edit source]Best-Lock was founded in 1997 by Torsten Geller after he looked into the legalities of Lego and other clones.[1][2]
In 2000, Lego filed a three-dimensional trademark for its mini-figures, which Best Lock had duplicated since 1998. In 2012, Best Lock sued to get the trademark revoked. On June 16, 2015, European Court of Justice upheld Lego's figure trademark.[3] Lego had in 2009 filed its copyright claims into a U.S. Customs database that led to the seizure of Best-Lock shipments coming in from Asia. In October 2011, Lego filed in US District Court in Hartford filed against Best-Lock over the mini-figure trademark.[1][4]
Best-Lock has been involved with multiple legal cases involving Lego. The company moved in 1998 against Lego's exclusivity claims to toy-block design. Best-Lock won the case, thus allowing them to sell sets in Germany.[2] They defeated a patent challenge from Lego in 2004.[5][6] In a further case in 2009, Lego was denied trademark protection for the shape of its bricks.[7]
Best-Lock merged with Cobi, a Polish building block manufacturer in 2006. The merger has since yielded co-branded building block toys.[8]
In 2000, Lego filed a three-dimensional trademark for its mini-figures, which Best Lock had duplicated since 1998. In 2012, Best-Lock sued to have the trademark revoked, but the European Court of Justice upheld Lego's figure trademark.[3][9]
Products
[edit source]Best-Lock offers different sized blocks including standard blocks, Junior Blocks (young children 2–5), and Baby Blocks (For kids 0–2). Themes for standard blocks include town sets (police, fire and construction), military, pirates, farming, and Kimmy (Best-Lock sets made for females). Licensed sets include The Terminator and Stargate SG-1 themes.
See also
[edit source]References
[edit source]- 1 2 Lee, Mara (29 January 2012). "Blocking And Tackling: A Nasty LEGO Copyright Battle". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- 1 2 Seay, Gregory (30 January 2012). "Lego locked in domestic copyright fight". Hartford Business Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- 1 2 Butler, Sarah (16 June 2015). "Lego blocks legal bid to remove trademark protection for its mini-figures". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
- ↑ "EU court rules Lego figurines are protected trademark". 16 June 2015.
- ↑ "Forty-year Monopolistic LEGO-Doctrine Ruling Reversed as Best-Lock Europe LTD Wins Patent and Trademark Case". CCNMatthews Newswire. 28 March 2005. Archived from the original on 25 February 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2012 – via HighBeam Research.
- ↑ "Pressemitteilung Nr. 147/04 vom 3.12.2004". Juris.bundesgerichtshof.de. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ↑ von RA Dennis Breuer (19 April 2012). "Pressemitteilung des BGH Nr. 158/2009: Legostein als Marke gelöscht | markenmagazin:recht". Markenmagazin.de. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
- ↑ "Best Lock Group Ltd. Is Pleased to Announce Its Merger with Cobi". Business Wire. 7 February 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ↑ "EU court rules Lego figurines are protected trademark". 16 June 2015.
External links
[edit source]
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