LEGO Wins Final Decisions in Major Intellectual Property Lawsuits Against Lepin
LEGO has recently announced that they have won final decisions in in major intellectual property lawsuits against Lepin. The Guangzhou courts have decided to uphold all the rulings of the infringement cases back from 2018. This means that Shantou Meizhi Model Co., Ltd will have to pay LEGO a total of RMB 4.7 million in damages and have to make a public apology. This is only a minor setback to Lepin as they have already changed company names to continue producing counterfeit products.
The LEGO Group wins final decisions in major intellectual property lawsuits against Lepin manufacturer in China
The LEGO Group announced today that it has received favourable final decisions from the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court against the appeals raised by defendants of multiple intellectual property infringement cases in China. It marks a significant legal victory for the LEGO Group to combat against imitators.
The court decided to uphold all of the first-instance rulings on the 18 copyright infringement and one unfair competition cases, which were handed down in favour of the LEGO Group in November 2018. These second-instance decisions are final and have entered into legal effect immediately upon issuance.
In these cases, Shantou Meizhi Model Co., Ltd. and its affiliates are liable of manufacturing and selling the infringing Lepin products. The 18 LEGO® sets and corresponding LEGO minifigures at dispute, are ruled as artworks protected under China Copyright Law belonging to the LEGO Group. Unauthorized copies of the same constitute copyright infringement, said the court.
The LEGO NINJAGO, NEXO KNIGHTS, and LEGENDS OF CHIMA series of toy sets are recognized by the court as products of certain influence in China. The trade dress for these products (and packaging) as well as the characters of LEGO NINJAGO are protected under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law in China, the court said in the final ruling.
Meizhi Model and all other defendants are ordered to cease infringement immediately, and to pay the LEGO Group a total of RMB 4.7 million (around DKK 4.5m) as damages. They are also ordered to make a public apology on the websites of China Toy and Juvenile Products Association and Guangdong Toy Association to the LEGO Group for Lepin infringement.
Robin Smith, Vice President and General Counsel, China & Asia Pacific, The LEGO Group, said “[i]ntellectual property rights are very important to the LEGO Group, and we constantly strive to enforce and protect our LEGO trademarks, copyrights, designs and patents. We are pleased with the court’s final decision and appreciate the efforts from all stakeholders in this case. It also shows the Chinese authorities’ commitment in creating a favourable business environment for multinational companies.”
The LEGO Group will follow up with the court on the collection of damages granted and enforcement of public apologies by Meizhi Model. It will also continue to support Shanghai police and procuratorate in the ongoing criminal case against executives of Meizhi Model who were arrested during the police’s raid against Lepin factories in April 2019.
The LEGO Group is dedicated to enforcing intellectual property rights against copiers and infringers and to protect its consumers. It has obtained many positive outcomes in its intellectual property enforcement actions in China in the past several years. In October 2017, the LEGO Group won a case at Shantou Intermediate Court against Bela, a Chinese toy manufacturer, for infringing the copyrights of the LEGO Group and for unfair competition. In another case decided earlier in July 2017, the LEGO logo and the LEGO word mark were recognized by the Beijing Higher Court as “well-known” trademarks in China.
