Lego strike a blow against small business in Asia:
https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2018/july/south-korea-caseOn the one hand, I affirm Lego's right to protect its IP from infringement. I also suspect that the store knew the risks and penalties of being caught carrying knockoff Lego products... but it seems to me the wrong party was punished in this case. Brands like Lepin, Bela, Lele, SY- the list goes on- have operated for years in China brazenly flaunting international copyright law, and all of Lego's attempts to get these knockoff manufacturers shut down have come up short. Their inability to stop these companies is a testament to Lego counsel's ineptitiude at building a strong legal case (pun intended).
They can't shut down the manufacturers, so Lego take the independent toy sellers who probably can't afford a good legal defense to court. Do you think they offered the seller the opportunity to become an official Lego vendor if they would stop selling the bootleg product? Did they request the seller stop selling the infringing material before taking them to court? Lego chose the nuclear option instead of either of these. Now that seller has a criminal conviction on his/her record. Meanwhile, the companies doing the most harm to Lego continue to operate at full strength. Anybody can still go to Alibaba right now and order a shipping container's worth of Lepin sets (just don't try selling it). Congratulations, Lego. You've successfully protected your intellectual property at the cost of one seller's livelihood.
I've purchased knockoff product manufactured by SY in the past. I did my due dilligence, though, and made sure to buy the Lego version if it was available. Still, I knew it wasn't right in the strictest legal sense. My conscience is a little lighter these days. The Lego Group owe its entire existence to ignoring patent law, after all.
