Category: Miscellaneous

LEGO Scores a Big Win in Lawsuit Against Lepin

Everything has a day of reckoning, and I guess Lepin is now in the threshold of their own. After the LEGO Group’s legal win against Lepin last year prohibiting the latter to package their fake LEGO products using dubiously similar box arts, The LEGO Group scores another win against the makers of Lepin and other similar companies when the Chinese legal courts now declared that the manufacture of these fake LEGO sets are considered illegal in the Chinese region. In a recent report submitted by TLG, the court’s decision represents “another significant legal victory in China for the LEGO Group in its battle against imitators over the past two years.” This successful lawsuit against Lepin, or specifically to Shantou Meizhi Model Co. and 3 other defendants, marks a triumph not only for The LEGO Group, but also to millions of LEGO fans around the world who trust the LEGO brand.

fake lepin roller coaster

According to the court’s decision, the four defendants are to “immediately cease producing, selling, exhibiting or in any way promoting the infringing products”. On top of that, Lepin’s manufacturer and the rest of the defendants are too pay TLG 4.5 million RMB, approximately equal to $650,000 USD.

According to LEGO CEO Niels B. Christiansen, “We welcome the court’s ruling. We believe these decisions are well-founded in the facts and the law, and clearly demonstrate the continued efforts of Chinese authorities to protect intellectual property. It also shows the authorities’ commitment to creating a fair business environment for all companies operating in China. The court’s decisions state that the LEPIN manufacturer and sellers must immediately cease copying the 18 LEGO sets that have been found protectable by the court. These rulings send a clear warning message to other companies who may be copying LEGO products. We will continue to take all necessary legal actions to protect our intellectual property rights.”

fake lepin assembly square

Lepin has been notorious in copying many of LEGO’s themed and licensed sets – they’re so good in imitating LEGO products that they can quickly come up with a counterfeit set even before the release date of a certain LEGO product. This is true, especially with the recent LEGO Star Wars Betrayal at Cloud City (75222) set. They’ve also shown an acute sense of insensitivity in lifting certain designs from AFOLs and rebrand them as their own. Now that this recent lawsuit against Lepin has been finally decided, I hope that this will send a very clear message to other manufacturers of fake LEGO products. If you wish to find out more about these manufacturers and their counterfeit LEGO sets, check out this report on Chinese LEGO knock-off brands right here.

Toy Company Already Using Renewable Materials Calls Out LEGO and Other Companies’ “Half-Hearted” Sustainability Measures

Much hype perhaps has been made of LEGO and its various measures to achieve sustainability in their operations and their products, from sustainable power for infrastructure to the introduction of sustainable manufacturing materials like plant-based plastics, now used to make LEGO’s plant pieces and elements, and more in the future.

Not just LEGO, but fellow well-established toy brands like Hasbro, Mattel and more are focused on the ideal of sustainability being part of their name. But according to BioBuddi, a toy company in the Netherlands, the big names in toys are not as dedicated to attaining sustainability as smaller toy brands like themselves, for instance.

BioBuddi manufactures early-age educational toys that are also made out of sustainable plastic materials made out of sugarcane. Their product history as such has recently earned them the American Eco-Excellence award, and they have plans to expand their market to 20 countries by next year.

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With their entire range of toy products already made of renewables, BioBuddi is of the opinion that similar approaches by major brands such as LEGO haven’t been as thorough as smaller companies. “Guys like Hasbro, Mattel and LEGO – if they are not responding quickly enough to this change, they will lose their market share,” remarks BioBuddi general manager Job Nijssen.

As can be recalled, LEGO’s timetable for transitioning their manufacturing materials to sustainable plant-based plastics has a deadline of the year 2030. For the moment the new plastic has only been utilized in LEGO plant pieces, and the Plants from Plants (40320) special box set.

Latest “Doctor Who” Episode Has 13th Doctor Mentioning Herself as a “Doctor of LEGO”, Among Other Fields

Never let it be said that American pop-culture franchises have a monopoly on licensing for LEGO products. One look at specific lines like LEGO Harry Potter is enough to prove that generalization wrong. Another big franchise originating from the UK that had gotten its LEGO limelight was BBC’s Doctor Who.

In past years, two incarnations of the Time Lord known only as The Doctor – Matt Smith as the Eleventh and Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth – got official LEGO minifigures, whether as part of a now-retired LEGO Ideas set or as a franchise tie-in for the now-cancelled LEGO Dimensions online game.

The Thirteenth and current Doctor, portrayed by Jodie Whitaker, has yet to get a LEGO rendition. But on the fifth episode of her ongoing series, “The Tsuranga Conundrum” which aired on BBC One November 4, she had a line of dialogue that referenced the toy brand in a nice shout-out.

In that episode, The Doctor was asked perhaps one likely query given to all her incarnations about just what sort of doctor they all are. When a medic in one scene asked if her Doctor title is one for medicine, The Doctor quickly rattles off her various “fields of expertise”, in this order: “Medicine, science, engineering, candyfloss, LEGO, philosophy, music, problems, people, hope, mostly hope.”

Jodie Whitaker has the great honor of playing the first known female regeneration of The Doctor in all the decades of their collective adventures. Her show, the 11th series of the Doctor Who revival, airs every Sunday on BBC One.

This Is Not a Brick Ad Campaign is LEGO’s New Way of Promoting Children’s Creativity

I suppose when the Holidays are coming, toy brands need to start thinking up new advertising campaigns to catch the imagination of children viewers, and through them the attention of their parents with their wallets. LEGO itself has already done theirs, and it’s a hoot to watch, start to finish. The new commercial, running about a minute long, was developed by LEGO Agency, the company’s newly-minted in-house advertising think-tank, and premiered last week on social media. It runs on the tagline that simply refers to the LEGO brick while confidently asserting that  This is not a brick; and the punch-line is the colorful SFX-laden sequence proving those words right.

The ad follows no less than five families – parents (and one grandmother) watching their children play with LEGO – and going on a wild symbolic ride through the kids’ wildest imaginations.

We see a mom on the shotgun seat of a Police cruiser driven by her son in a high-speed chase. We see a boy flying an X-Wing with his freaked-out dad stuck in the astromech droid slot. Next we have a girl racing her granny on go-karts along city streets, only to stop and let a father and son pass the cross walk with their pet dragon. And then we have an Asian family running from a giant LEGO-built kaijuu. And all these wacky visuals happen while “The Blue Danube” plays.

That’s a mighty vivid illustration of how LEGO can fire up a child’s imagination, and to look beyond a LEGO piece and simply believe that this is not a brick. As LEGO Agency VP Remi Marcelli tells it, “is a celebration of the endless creative opportunities that the LEGO system in play provides…We hope it will engage and excite fans across the world, reminding us all of the importance of play.”

The LEGO Agency is the newest streamlining of all internal divisions that engage in advertising for The LEGO Group; many of those former departments have been around in the organization for decades, producing local commercials. The LEGO Agency, with 500 staff, is more globally oriented.

Geoffrey’s Toy Box to Appear in 600 Kroger Stores Before Year’s End

To paraphrase the old royal-era French exclamation “The King (Charles VI, 1422) is Dead, Long Live the King! (Charles VII, his son)” we might now say, “Toys R Us is Dead, Long Live Geoffrey’s Toy Box!” The venerable old toy retailer has coming back; and though its new form is smaller, it’s still great news.

The revival of Toys R Us in the US under the rebranding of Geoffrey’s Toy Box was made known last month, to be a store-within-a-store partnered with retail outlets. We now know that the first retailer to pick up Geoffrey’s Toy Box is Kroger Stores.

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A recent press release by The Kroger Co. related that the grocery retail chain was going to put a Geoffrey’s Toy Box in 600 of their Kroger Family Stores, a massive number spread across no less than 30 states. Installation of some of these Geoffrey’s Toy Box  kiosks has already begun, with plans to reach the max number in time for Holidays.

But wait; in order to test the waters of the old TRU’s new store-within-a-store concept, only certain toy brands are being offered in the Toy Boxes this month: Animal Zone, Imaginarium, Journey Girls, Edu Science, You & Me, and Just Like Home. Projected prices will range from $19.99 to $49.99 and product assortments will change from one location to another.

We’re not really sure if all 600 of Geoffrey’s Tox Box will simply follow a kiosk-type of display to sell TRU’s own branded toys. And to be frank, its a bit underwhelming to see how this Toy Box concept turned out. The selection of toys on display is not really most fans may expect, but then again, with such the small place and footprint that it occupies, not all major brands will, or can be represented.

Obviously, LEGO and other more prominent brands won’t be a part of Geoffrey’s Toy Box during its early days. And as much as we hope that this rebirth of Toys R Us will kick off and that the LEGO brand will be once again be a part of it, most LEGO fans are still holding on to their horses and are still a bit skeptical about it if such TRU re-branding will really be successful.

It remains to be seen during the next few months until the first quarter of 2019 if LEGO sets will be added to Geoffrey’s Toy Box. We just have to wait and see.

LEGO Encourages Millennials to De-Stress By Building With LEGO Bricks

For so many decades LEGO and its products have meant many things to so many people. They’ve been toys, educational aids, and a medium of artistic and architectural expression just to name a few. LEGO also have been tapped for research and physical therapy. And this time around, LEGO’s many products are being hyped as…an actual alternative to yoga? A LEGO advertisement has been making rounds in Instagram, targeted towards “millennial” users from the UK. It shows a woman failing to achieve some peace doing yoga exercises, and then knowing the joy of learning of how to de-stress by building with LEGO bricks.

De-Stress By Building With LEGO Bricks

“Need an escape?” goes the Instagram vid’s accompanying caption. “Building with Lego bricks reduces stress and improves your well-being. It’s Zen, in the shape of a brick.” This rather on-the-nose commercial enticement for more grownups to become AFOLs is the brainchild of LEGO Creative Play Lab, based on current research.

“There is a movement back to what may be more hands-on and physical,” says LEGO CPL vice president Tom Donaldson. “The boundaries between physical and digital play are blurring, and that is the future of play.” In a way, this social media ad is a follow-up to LEGO Forma, a new product line the company has introduced via crowd-funding that’s particularly geared towards adult builders.

Another statement by The LEGO Group all but heaps thanks and praise towards the AFOL community, both the longtime ones and those who’re more recently joining the bandwagon. “We have a strong adult fan-base who shares the passion for the LEGO brick and the endless possibilities it brings to creative expression,” so the statement goes.

So if you need to unwind and would like to find that bit of a measure of peace, then remember that you can always grab that brick bin and try to de-stress by building with LEGO bricks.

Source:  The Telegraph UK

LEGO Inside Tour 2019 Now Open For Registration

We’ve featured a lot of stories and articles on the LEGO Inside Tour for the past couple of years, and if you’re up and ready to join one of the most awesome experiences that any true LEGO aficionado can have during their lifetime, then you might want to know that registration for the LEGO Inside Tour 2019 is now officially open. To be exact, registration begins at 10AM CET of October 29 and will end on November 2, 10AM CET. Though LEGO allots 5 working days for the registration, the slots are usually filled very fast since each schedule of the LEGO Inside Tour can only accommodate a very few number of guests. It is wise therefore to register right away if your planning to participate in this annual event.

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The LEGO Inside Tour 2019 is scheduled four times throughout the year, and will take place at the LEGO Group’s headquarters in Billund, Denmark and at Hotel LEGOLAND:

  • May 8 to 10, 2019
  • June 12 to 14, 2019
  • September 11 to 13, 2019
  • September 18 to 20, 2019

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Getting the #legoinsidetour #followmyduck

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Here’s a gist of what to expect from the LEGO Inside Tour 2019, followed by its promotional video.

What is LEGO Inside Tour? 

LEGO Inside Tour provides a unique look into the LEGO Group often referred to as ‘a once–in-a-lifetime experience’. You are invited inside Ole Kirk Kristiansen’s original house, featuring an extraordinary exhibition of LEGO sets and models that date back to 1934. You will meet LEGO employees and especially LEGO designers, who will introduce you to their daily work at the LEGO Group, and you will take part in a unique building experience together with LEGO designers. Part of the LEGO Inside Tour consists of a factory tour, where you can see how LEGO bricks are produced. LEGO Inside Tour also stops at the LEGO staff shop.

At the end of the tour, you will receive a unique gift exclusively produced in close cooperation with Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen especially for this year’s LEGO Inside Tour participants.

The LEGO Group’s headquarters are based in Billund, Denmark, and here the LEGO Inside Tour will take place. Starting point of the 2-day tour is Hotel LEGOLAND®: www.hotellegoland.dk.

 

With a price tag of DKK 14,500 per person (roughly equivalent to $2,200), the LEGO Inside Tour may perhaps be the single, most expensive LEGO activity that you may engage in. However, it is a once in a lifetime experience that any bonafide LEGO fan surely dreams of joining.

If you haven’t thought of your perfect vacation getaway yet, then you may want to consider the LEGO Inside Tour 2019. Just be sure to visit this link during the registration period.

LEGO Social Media Senior Director Lars Silberman Moving to MTV Digital Studios as Senior VP

With big companies like The LEGO Group, the shuffling and departure of high-level personnel around and from the organization can often draw attention from observers and analysts from the business world. This is in effect right now as one LEGO Global Senior Director has announced that he’s moving from the toy brand to an executive position on a cable network.

To be specific, Lars Silberbauer is taking his leave from The LEGO Group in order to become Senior Vice President of MTV Digital Studios. Silberbauer recently was in the spotlight on advertising news when he acted as spokesperson for LEGO in the company’s official position regarding the backlash on social media influencer Scarlett London’s Listerine plug way back in August.

At his highest office in The LEGO Group, Silberbauer served as Senior Global Director of Social Media and Video. The evolution of LEGO’s social media presence from just bare-bones to full of fun extras can be attributed to his direction.

It’s probably Lars Silberbauer’s successful launch of LEGO’s TV content in 2014, which can be seen in the content of the heavily visited LEGO YouTube channel that must have spurred MTV and Viacom to acquire his services for their own platforms. We therefore wish him well in his new endeavors.

LEGOLAND Germany Also Giving Away 2018 Halloween Commemorative Brick

Years ago, LEGOLAND theme parks during special occasions such as Halloween would make available promotional LEGO bricks for their guests as souvenirs. These bricks are 2×4 and thicker than most, to allow commemorative art to be painted on its sides. The practice wore off recently but seeing a resurgence now.

This was first noted by us here on The Brick Show almost two weeks ago, when we reported that LEGOLAND Dubai’s own Halloween extravaganza for the month of October also included a giveaway of a promotional LEGO brick. Germany’s followed suit with LEGOLAND Deutschland bringing out its own commemorative piece.

Where LEGOLAND Dubai’s Halloween 2018 brick is orange with a bat motif, their Deutschland counterpart is going for a yellow piece, also 2×4 pegs, printed on one side with a logo of the theme park, on the other with a minifigure in a spider costume holding a spider in hand.

News of the LEGOLAND Halloween brick for Germany was showcased on German LEGO news source Promo Bricks, along with a rundown of activities and events for the spooky occasion all through the end of October. More information on these festivity highlights can be found on the LEGOLAND Deutschland official website.

London LEGO-Themed “Brick Bar” for AFOLs Accepting Bookings for 2019 Pop-Up Opening

Way back at the start of this year, a pop-up establishment momentarily operated in Australia that drew the interest of AFOLs looking for a place to have a cold drink while indulging in their brick-building hobby. While it has no official connections to The LEGO Group, the titular Brick Bar was a hit due to being built out of millions of bricks, with loose pieces available for their customers’ perusal.

Several months later, news has come that the Brick Bar pop-up concept is ready to rock a new country, this time the UK in London. It’ll run for just three days with only ticket access allowed for any interested guests.

From April 26 to 28 next year, the Brick Bar will be serving drinks and offering LEGO pieces for play fun at its proposed pop-up location in Shoreditch, London. Patrons will get to appreciate the various brick-built sculpture designs inside the venue (the LEGO name isn’t mentioned in the premises for legal purposes).

Guests are freed to build and customize the bricks in the bar, while listening to local DJs doing their sets and tucking in for food and drinks. Creative builders may also get to win prizes from staff.

The Brick Bar in London will likely follow its Australian incarnation by being open morning to evening. Under-18s are allowed in only until 6 PM to leave the place for grownups and AFOLs as it gets dark. The first batch of 500 tickets (£20-£25 per head) for access to the bar are available for advance booking now, with each ticket allowing 90 minutes in the establishment to dine and play. Food items include Brick Burgers, and beverage selections will have cocktails and alcohol coming out at 6 in the evening.