LEGO: game over for Delta Sport

[29/01/2024]

The General Court of the European Union has recently reaffirmed the validity of the iconic LEGO brick design, putting an end to several years of proceedings.

Since 2010, Lego has benefited from design protection of its famous toy brick in Europe, pictured below:

Since 2019, this protection has been challenged by Delta Sport Handelskontor in a series of actions and appeals.

The debate focused on whether all the features of appearance of the Lego brick were solely dictated by its technical function, namely to allow assembly with, and disassembly from, the rest of the bricks, and, therefore, whether or not the brick was protectable as a design.

In its judgment of January 24, 2024, the Court held that the design should not be declared invalid, thus confirming the protection of the modular system.

The court stated that a design can only be declared invalid if all of its features are excluded from protection, which Delta Sport Handelskontor, which bears the burden of proof, failed to prove in this case.

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