LEGO litigation.

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa
• Position: Bench press

Kirkbi AG is the company that makes LEGO building blocks. Ritvik Holdings makes a similar product, using the same eight studs distributed in a regular geometric pattern on the upper side of the blocks. The two companies have been locked in litigation for years over trademark rights to the design. Kirkbi wanted a permanent injunction preventing Ritvik from marketing its product, and damages, but Kirkbi was unsuccessful at trial and appeal. The Supreme Court of Canada decided that the actual design function of the LEGO block cannot be trademarked, since it goes beyond the legitimate...