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29 April 2019Trademarks

Shanghai police seize $30 million of counterfeit Lego

Police in China have arrested four suspects allegedly part of a counterfeit ring which produced $30 million worth of counterfeit  Lego.

On April 23, Shanghai police raided factories belonging to Lepin, a Chinese toy manufacturer that had been making counterfeit Lego products.

In  a statement on Chinese social media app  WeChat, Shanghai police said it had raided and closed down three of the group’s warehouses, including more than ten assembly lines.

It said it had seized nearly 200,00 manuals and 200,00 packaging boxes.

The police also said they had seized more than 630,000 finished products, worth approximately $30 million.

Pictures released by Shanghai Police showed imitation Star Wars-themed sets as well as more than 90 moulds used to produce the toys.

In a statement to WIPR, Lego said it was aware that Shanghai police had carried out the raid.

“The Lego group welcomes healthy, fair competition as this benefits consumers, retailers and keeps us on our toes. However, we will always take whatever measures are necessary to protect consumers from being misled by misuse of the Lego brand and its trademarks,” Lego said.

The raid comes after a district court in China ordered a company to pay Lego $650,000 in damages in November 2018 for copying 18 of its Lego sets.

The Guangzhou Yuexiu District Court in China found Shantou Meizhi Model Co et al liable for copying the 3D artworks for Lego sets and multiple Lego mini figures, along with carrying out unfair competition acts.

As reported by  WIPR, the court ordered that the defendants immediately cease producing, selling, exhibiting or in any way promoting the infringing products.

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6 November 2018   The Guangzhou Yuexiu District Court in China yesterday found that four companies infringed Lego’s copyright, in another IP win for the Denmark-based toy maker.
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29 July 2019   Danish toy maker Lego has won a US copyright infringement suit against a British competitor.