LEGO Juris A/S warning letter: Focus on trademark and copyright infringements
Copyright and trademark warning on behalf of LEGO Juris A/S by the law firm Hogan Lovells
The Danish company LEGO Juris A/S has commissioned the law firm Hogan Lovells to issue trademark and copyright infringement warnings. These warnings are directed against trademark and copyright infringements committed on online shops or sales platforms such as Amazon. Specifically, they concern products such as toy sets, toy houses, or figurines that are supposed to be replicas of the LEGO minifigure. The warning letter claims that the LEGO minifigure was designed in 1978 by Jens Nygard Knudsen, a LEGO employee, and is protected by European Union trademarks. They also argue that the figurine, as a personal intellectual creation, enjoys copyright protection.
Trademark and copyright infringement: The offered figure allegedly features the characteristic design features of the LEGO minifigure. Consequently, trademark infringements are alleged under Section 14 of the Trademark Act and Article 9 of the Copyright Regulation, as well as copyright infringements under Section 97 of the Copyright Act.
Claims asserted:
- Injunction: A cease-and-desist declaration is required, in which it is assured that future violations will be refrained from, combined with a contractual penalty which, according to the attached pre-formulated cease-and-desist declaration, shall not be less than EUR 5,001.00.
- Right to information: Furthermore, information about the origin of the goods in question should be provided in order to be able to calculate the compensation accurately
- Reimbursement of costs: Finally, reimbursement of costs in the amount of EUR 2,289.72 is being demanded. This includes the legal fees allegedly incurred by engaging the law firm Hogan Lovells.
Recommendations for action for affected companies:
- Do not ignore the warning.
- Under no circumstances should you sign the enclosed, pre-formulated cease and desist declaration.
- Contact me and have an expert review the warning letter. Together, we'll develop the right defense strategy.
Colleague Attorney Robert Meyen has https://marken.legal/lego-abmahnung/ also reported on the brick war
About the author
Anne-Kathrin Renz
Anne-Kathrin Renz is a lawyer, data protection officer, and lecturer. She completed the theoretical part of her specialist lawyer training in intellectual property law and IT law. In her blog, she reports on current topics from the digital world of law.
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