The "minifigure" of Lego and its friends prove
to be brave fighters, not only in children's hands, but also
before the Regional Court of Dusseldorf and even the General Court
of the EU.
The Lego minifigure, which is – quite obviously –
well-known among the relevant consumers in the EU and registered as
a three-dimensional EU trademark on the basis of acquired
distinctiveness, has always been under heavy attack. At the moment,
the now fourth application for cancellation is pending before the
General Court.
However, the figure proves to be a strong subject of different
types of intellectual property rights.
In its recent decision (LG Düsseldorf, Urteil vom 8.12.2022
– 14c O 46/21), the regional Court of Düsseldorf had to
consider figures and toy sets produced by the defendant,
Steinmachenes, on a number of counts, including community designs,
copyright and ancillary protection under competition law.
