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115-486: Lego Ideas was first introduced as an offshoot of the Japanese company CUUSOO, produced as a collaboration between CUUSOO and The Lego Group . Titled LEGO CUUSOO , the site was labeled a beta site and remained so until the unveiling of Lego Ideas as a finished product. In 2014, the platform moved to Chaordix. Users express their idea by combining a written description of the idea and a sample Lego model that demonstrates

230-499: A "bias" by confusing these monopolies with ownership of limited physical things, likening them to "property rights". Stallman advocates referring to copyrights, patents and trademarks in the singular and warns against abstracting disparate laws into a collective term. He argues that, "to avoid spreading unnecessary bias and confusion, it is best to adopt a firm policy not to speak or even think in terms of 'intellectual property'." Similarly, economists Boldrin and Levine prefer to use

345-453: A breach of civil law or criminal law, depending on the type of intellectual property involved, jurisdiction, and the nature of the action. As of 2011, trade in counterfeit copyrighted and trademarked works was a $ 600 billion industry worldwide and accounted for 5‍–‍7% of global trade. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine , IP has been a consideration in punishment of

460-476: A default action ordering the destruction of the shipment. Lego Group footed the bill for the disposal of the 54,000 sets, citing a desire to avoid brand confusion and protect consumers from potentially inferior products. In 2004, Best-Lock defeated a patent challenge from Lego in the Oberlandesgericht, Hamburg. The Lego Group has attempted to trademark the "Lego Indicia", the studded appearance of

575-475: A factory in Switzerland . In 2011, sales for the company grew 11%, rising from US$ 2,847 million in 2010 to US$ 3,495 million in 2011. Profit for the 2011 fiscal year increased from US$ 661 million to US$ 776 million. The increased profit was due to the enormous popularity of the new brand Ninjago , which became the company's biggest product introduction ever. In 2012, it was reported that

690-433: A handwritten letter to Lego from a seven-year-old American girl, Charlotte Benjamin, received widespread attention in the media. In it, the young author complained that there were "more Lego boy people and barely any Lego girls" and observed that "all the girls did was sit at home, go to the beach, and shop, and they had no jobs, but the boys went on adventures, worked, saved people … even swam with sharks". In June 2014, it

805-599: A limited palette. In January 2023, 9 designs were selected with them set to be released for purchase on Lego.com throughout 2023.   Set based on an original idea   Set based on an existing intellectual property In September 2022, The Office (set number: 21336) was awarded "Toy of the Year" and also "Grown-Up Toy of the Year" by the Toy Association . The Lego Group The Lego Group (also known as Lego System A/S or formally Lego A/S )

920-670: A limited period of time. Supporters argue that because IP laws allow people to protect their original ideas and prevent unauthorized copying, creators derive greater individual economic benefit from the information and intellectual goods they create, and thus have more economic incentives to create them in the first place. Advocates of IP believe that these economic incentives and legal protections stimulate innovation and contribute to technological progress of certain kinds. The intangible nature of intellectual property presents difficulties when compared with traditional property like land or goods. Unlike traditional property, intellectual property

1035-402: A lower price. Balancing rights so that they are strong enough to encourage the creation of information and intellectual goods but not so strong that they prevent their wide use is the primary focus of modern intellectual property law. By exchanging limited exclusive rights for disclosure of inventions and creative works, society and the patentee/copyright owner mutually benefit, and an incentive

1150-567: A lower price. Balancing rights so that they are strong enough to encourage the creation of intellectual goods but not so strong that they prevent the goods' wide use is the primary focus of modern intellectual property law. The Venetian Patent Statute of 19 March 1474, established by the Republic of Venice , is usually considered to be the earliest codified patent system in the world. It states that patents might be granted for "any new and ingenious device, not previously made", provided it

1265-478: A man has a natural and absolute right—and if a natural and absolute, then necessarily a perpetual, right—of property, in the ideas, of which he is the discoverer or creator; that his right of property, in ideas, is intrinsically the same as, and stands on identically the same grounds with, his right of property in material things; that no distinction, of principle, exists between the two cases". Writer Ayn Rand argued in her book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal that

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1380-516: A paradigm shift". Indeed, up until the early 2000s, the global IP regime used to be dominated by high standards of protection characteristic of IP laws from Europe or the United States, with a vision that uniform application of these standards over every country and to several fields with little consideration over social, cultural or environmental values or of the national level of economic development. Morin argues that "the emerging discourse of

1495-438: A patent for five, ten or fifteen years." In Europe, French author A. Nion mentioned propriété intellectuelle in his Droits civils des auteurs, artistes et inventeurs , published in 1846. Until recently, the purpose of intellectual property law was to give as little protection as possible in order to encourage innovation . Historically, therefore, legal protection was granted only when necessary to encourage invention, and it

1610-539: A prize.   Set based on an original idea   Set based on an existing intellectual property (Comic Rocket Ride! Coin operated) (Aedelsten Deluxe) (Sailing Ship Aventure) (The Adventures of the USS Cardboard) (Ray the Castaway) In September 2022, LEGO Ideas opened an invite-only challenge to fan designers on the crowdsourcing platform for digitally designed sets with

1725-694: A retail park environment. Legoland Japan Resort was opened in 2017 in Nagoya, Japan . Legoland Water Park Gardaland in Castelnuovo del Garda , Italy and Legoland New York in Goshen, New York , the largest of ten Legoland parks as of 2024, was opened in 2021. In June 2019, the Lego Group purchased the remaining shares in Merlin Entertainments which they did not own and privatised

1840-462: A series of Minifigure-based action-adventure games inspired by popular cultural franchises such as Star Wars , Batman , Marvel Comics , and the Harry Potter series. The brand also released The LEGO Movie (2014), a computer-animated feature film centered on the adventures of LEGO Minifigures. A spin-off, The LEGO Batman Movie (2017), focused on one of the characters introduced in

1955-410: A two- or three-dimensional pattern used to produce a product, industrial commodity or handicraft. Generally speaking, it is what makes a product look appealing, and as such, it increases the commercial value of goods. Plant breeders' rights or plant variety rights are the rights to commercially use a new variety of a plant . The variety must, amongst others, be novel and distinct and for registration

2070-508: A week of its online release in August 2014. The BBC's Tom de Castella reported that Kooijman was pleased with the set's final design, despite the addition of face makeup to her original proposal, and that Becky Francis , professor of education and social justice at King's College London , who had been "very, very disappointed" by Lego Friends, is a fan. In June 2021, Lego released a set entitled " Everyone Is Awesome " to celebrate and recognize

2185-432: Is "indivisible", since an unlimited number of people can in theory "consume" an intellectual good without its being depleted. Additionally, investments in intellectual goods suffer from appropriation problems: Landowners can surround their land with a robust fence and hire armed guards to protect it, but producers of information or literature can usually do little to stop their first buyer from replicating it and selling it at

2300-624: Is Coko, manufactured by Chinese company Tianjin Coko Toy Co., Ltd. In 2002, Lego Group's Swiss subsidiary Interlego AG sued the company for copyright infringement . A trial court found many Coko bricks to be infringing; Coko was ordered to cease manufacture of the infringing bricks, publish a formal apology in the Beijing Daily , and pay a small fee in damages to Interlego. On appeal, the Beijing High People's Court upheld

2415-463: Is a Danish construction toy production company based in Billund , Denmark. It manufactures Lego -branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland , and operates numerous retail stores. The company was founded on 10 August 1932, by Ole Kirk Christiansen . The name Lego is derived from

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2530-549: Is a form of right granted by the government to an inventor or their successor-in-title, giving the owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, and importing an invention for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention. An invention is a solution to a specific technological problem, which may be a product or a process, and generally has to fulfill three main requirements: it has to be new , not obvious and there needs to be an industrial applicability . To enrich

2645-601: Is a trade secret for Coca-Cola .) The main purpose of intellectual property law is to encourage the creation of a wide variety of intellectual goods for consumers. To achieve this, the law gives people and businesses property rights to the information and intellectual goods they create, usually for a limited period of time. Because they can then profit from them, this gives economic incentive for their creation. The intangible nature of intellectual property presents difficulties when compared with traditional property like land or goods. Unlike traditional property, intellectual property

2760-416: Is an extension of an individual. Utilitarians believe that intellectual property stimulates social progress and pushes people to further innovation. Lockeans argue that intellectual property is justified based on deservedness and hard work. Various moral justifications for private property can be used to argue in favor of the morality of intellectual property, such as: Lysander Spooner (1855) argues "that

2875-668: Is considered similarly high in other developed nations, such as those in the European Union. In the UK, IP has become a recognised asset class for use in pension-led funding and other types of business finance. However, in 2013, the UK Intellectual Property Office stated: "There are millions of intangible business assets whose value is either not being leveraged at all, or only being leveraged inadvertently". An October 2023 study released by Americans for

2990-460: Is created for inventors and authors to create and disclose their work. Some commentators have noted that the objective of intellectual property legislators and those who support its implementation appears to be "absolute protection". "If some intellectual property is desirable because it encourages innovation, they reason, more is better. The thinking is that creators will not have sufficient incentive to invent unless they are legally entitled to capture

3105-635: Is different from violations of other intellectual property laws, since by definition trade secrets are secret, while patents and registered copyrights and trademarks are publicly available. In the United States, trade secrets are protected under state law, and states have nearly universally adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act . The United States also has federal law in the form of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 ( 18 U.S.C.   §§ 1831 – 1839 ), which makes

3220-713: Is in support of innovative play-based learning for neurodivergent children and turn, will award funding to 25 enterprises in support of innovative learning for autistic children and children with ADHD . Intellectual property This is an accepted version of this page Intellectual property ( IP ) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents , copyrights , trademarks , and trade secrets . The modern concept of intellectual property developed in England in

3335-432: Is indivisible—an unlimited number of people can "consume" an intellectual good without it being depleted. Additionally, investments in intellectual goods suffer from problems of appropriation—while a landowner can surround their land with a robust fence and hire armed guards to protect it, a producer of information or an intellectual good can usually do very little to stop their first buyer from replicating it and selling it at

3450-678: Is the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The TRIPS Agreement sets minimum international standards for IP which every member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) must comply with. A member's non-compliance with the TRIPS Agreement may be grounds for suit under the WTO's Dispute Settlement Mechanism . Bilateral and multi-lateral agreements often establish IP requirements above

3565-520: Is the first Legoland in Asia and was quickly followed by another Lego-themed water park in the same area. The first Lego hotel has also opened near the site. People who stay in the hotel will also get tickets to the theme park and water park. The September 2016 they opened Legoland Dubai. In addition, they opened four new Legoland Discovery Centres , which take the Legoland concept and scale it down to suit

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3680-551: Is the largest Legoland opened to date at 145 acres, and only one of the Legoland parks opened in the United States. The other Legoland (opened at a later date) water park was opened near the same location on 26 May 2012 after only four months of construction. Merlin Entertainments opened their second new Legoland park in Iskandar Puteri , Malaysia under the name Legoland Malaysia Resort on 22 September 2012. It

3795-448: Is to promote, as a deliberate act of Government policy, creativity and the dissemination and application of its results and to encourage fair trading which would contribute to economic and social development. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) states that "effective enforcement of intellectual property rights is critical to sustaining economic growth across all industries and globally". Economists estimate that two-thirds of

3910-464: The Danish phrase leg godt , meaning "play well". In the first half of 2015, The Lego Group became the world's largest toy company by revenue , with sales amounting to US$ 2.1 billion, surpassing Mattel , which had US$ 1.9 billion in sales. The Lego company was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen , a carpenter whose primary business of producing household goods had suffered due to

4025-664: The Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney) at Walt Disney World in Orlando , Florida . Between 1999 and 2005, Lego opened 24 further stores in North America in 23 states. As of 2023, 112 Lego stores are operating in North America in 35 US states and five Canadian provinces. These stores sell various Lego merchandise, including minifigures , Pick-a-Brick, and custom packaged minifigures. The first Lego store in India

4140-806: The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media . On 3 March 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the LEGO Foundation stated it would donate approximately US$ 16.5   million to organizations including UNICEF , Save the Children , and the Danish Red Cross for emergency relief efforts. In April 2022, The LEGO Foundation announced the launch of the company's $ 20 million play-based learning initiative. The grant programme launched as part of Autism Acceptance Month,

4255-626: The Great Depression . Initially producing wooden toys, the company later developed a system of interlocking bricks. Manufacturing of plastic Lego bricks began in Denmark in 1947. After a fire in the woodworking department, Ole's son, Godtfred, decided to stop the production of wooden toys and solely focus on plastic products and the Lego system. He also built an airport in Billund to facilitate

4370-606: The LGBTQ+ community. The set includes over 300 pieces and has 11 monochrome minifigures in the colours of the Rainbow flag . In October 2021, Lego Group launched a campaign named "Ready for Girls" as part of its celebration of the UN's International Day of the Girl . The company also announced its plan to remove gender stereotypes from the toy(s) following a review of a study commissioned by

4485-853: The Majid Al Futtaim Group , which opened 6 stores in 2015 (4 in the United Arab Emirates , and 2 in Kuwait ). In 2023 there is a total of 423 stores operated by franchisees, mostly in Australia, Asia and South America. October 2002 saw a significant change in the Lego Group's direct retail policy with the opening of the first so-called Lego Brand Store in Cologne , Germany. The second, in Milton Keynes , UK, followed quickly – several dozen more opened worldwide over

4600-583: The fair use and fair dealing doctrine. Trademark infringement occurs when one party uses a trademark that is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services of the other party. In many countries, a trademark receives protection without registration, but registering a trademark provides legal advantages for enforcement. Infringement can be addressed by civil litigation and, in several jurisdictions, under criminal law. Trade secret misappropriation

4715-613: The "Lego Ideas" banner. Users that have their projects produced receive ten copies of the final set, as well as a 1% royalty of the product's net sales and credit and bio in set materials as the Lego Ideas set creator. As of August 13, 2022, 58 sets have been produced and 65 sets have been announced (including GWP sets):   Set based on an original idea   Set based on an existing intellectual property Sets are listed in order of announcement. Bold line indicates when branding changed from Cuusoo to Ideas. Flags represent

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4830-463: The 10,000 vote threshold was likely due to the global lockdown amidst the COVID-19 pandemic . The first 2021 review phase saw yet another record number with 57 qualified projects after one project was disqualified due to an intellectual property conflict. If the product is cleared for production, it is further developed by Lego set designers and the final model gets released as an official set under

4945-514: The 1760s and 1770s over the extent to which authors and publishers of works also had rights deriving from the common law of property ( Millar v Taylor (1769), Hinton v Donaldson (1773), Donaldson v Becket (1774)). The first known use of the term intellectual property dates to this time, when a piece published in the Monthly Review in 1769 used the phrase. The first clear example of modern usage goes back as early as 1808, when it

5060-519: The 17th and 18th centuries. The term "intellectual property" began to be used in the 19th century, though it was not until the late 20th century that intellectual property became commonplace in most of the world's legal systems . Supporters of intellectual property laws often describe their main purpose as encouraging the creation of a wide variety of intellectual goods. To achieve this, the law gives people and businesses property rights to certain information and intellectual goods they create, usually for

5175-613: The Arts (AFTA) found that "nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences generated $ 151.7 billion in economic activity—$ 73.3 billion in spending by the organizations, which leveraged an additional $ 78.4 billion in event-related spending by their audiences." This spending supported 2.6 million jobs and generated $ 29.1 billion in local, state and federal tax revenue." 224,000 audience members and over 16,000 organizations in all 50 states and Puerto Rico were surveyed over an 18-month period to collect

5290-729: The Blackstone subsidiary Merlin Entertainments . Under the terms of the deal, the Lego Group would take a 30% share in Merlin Entertainments and positions on their board. The sale of the theme parks was part of a wider strategy to restructure the company to focus on the core business of toy products. In 2010, Merlin Entertainments opened the first Legoland water park at the Legoland California site. On 15 October 2011, Merlin Entertainments opened their first new Legoland park, Legoland Florida , in Winter Haven, Florida . It

5405-643: The Dead . Other projects which have been rejected include ones based on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic due to the property being owned by rival toy manufacturer Hasbro , certain sets based on The Legend of Zelda due to the need to create too many original molds, although Lego did not completely rule out other projects based on the franchise, and a Sandcrawler set for the Ultimate Collector Series due to The Lego Group 's ongoing collaboration with Lucasfilm on Lego Star Wars . In

5520-452: The EU, and which has not entered into force, requires that its parties add criminal penalties, including incarceration and fines, for copyright and trademark infringement, and obligated the parties to actively police for infringement. There are limitations and exceptions to copyright , allowing limited use of copyrighted works, which does not constitute infringement. Examples of such doctrines are

5635-521: The Kirk Kristiansen family, owners of Lego, operate three private jets that have flown over 1,000 times between 2020 and 2023, often to destinations linked to vacations and events related to the family's hobby of horse riding. As private aviation is emitting considerable amounts of greenhouse gasses , reports raise concerns about the contrast between the family's private activities and Lego's public commitment to sustainability. In January 2014,

5750-410: The Lego Group had become the world's most valuable toy company ahead of Mattel with a value of over US$ 14.6 billion. The Lego Group delivered a turnover of kr. 14,142 million in the first half of 2015 with an increase of 18% compared with the same period in 2014 measured in local currency (i.e. excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate changes). Net profit for the first half of 2015

5865-400: The Lego Group under Lego's majority owner Kirkbi A/S , which allowed Create TV and Film to branch onto other projects. The company later produced Bionicle: Mask of Light , Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui and Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows for Creative Capers Entertainment . In 2005, Kirkbi A/S sold Create TV and Film to its chief executive officer , Vanessa Chapman, and the company

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5980-455: The Lego Group. The company was founded as Lego Media in 1996 and headquartered in London, England. In February 1999, Lego Media announced their move into the girls' software industry, starting with Lego Friends . In May 2002, the company announced that begin distributing its titles through Electronic Arts . Eventually, the Lego Group opted out of the video game business and Lego Interactive

6095-768: The Lego brick, hoping to stop production of Mega Brands . On 24 May 2002, the Federal Court of Canada dismissed the case, asserting the design was functional and therefore ineligible for trademark protection. The Lego Group's appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal on 14 July 2003. In October 2005, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that "Trademark law should not be used to perpetuate monopoly rights enjoyed under now-expired patents" and held that Mega Bloks can continue to manufacture their bricks. Because of fierce competition from copycat products,

6210-512: The US), supplementary protection certificates for pharmaceutical products (after expiry of a patent protecting them), and database rights (in European law ). The term "industrial property" is sometimes used to refer to a large subset of intellectual property rights including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade names, and geographical indications. A patent

6325-467: The United States) but several jurisdictions incorporate infringement in criminal law also (for example, Argentina, China, France, Japan, Russia, South Korea). Copyright infringement is reproducing, distributing, displaying or performing a work , or to make derivative works , without permission from the copyright holder, which is typically a publisher or other business representing or assigned by

6440-417: The aggressor through trade sanctions, has been proposed as a method to prevent future wars of aggression involving nuclear weapons , and has caused concern about stifling innovation by keeping patent information secret. Patent infringement typically is caused by using or selling a patented invention without permission from the patent holder, i.e. from the patent owner. The scope of the patented invention or

6555-428: The body of knowledge and to stimulate innovation, it is an obligation for patent owners to disclose valuable information about their inventions to the public. A copyright gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Copyright may apply to a wide range of creative, intellectual, or artistic forms, or "works". Copyright does not cover ideas and information themselves, only

6670-740: The city's Paradise Center . In 1992, when the Mall of America opened in Bloomington, Minnesota , one of its premier attractions was the Lego Imagination Center (LIC). An imagination centre is a large Lego store with displays of Lego sculptures and a play area with bins of bricks to build with. The store inventory includes a large selection of Lego sets for sale, including sets which are advertised in Lego catalogues as "Not Available in Any Store". A second imagination centre opened at

6785-701: The company has always responded by being proactive in its patenting and has over 600 United States–granted design patents to its name. In 2003, the Lego Group faced a budget deficit of kr.  1.4 billion ( US$ 220 million at then-current exchange rates; equal to € 175 million), causing Poul Plougmann to be replaced by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen as president. In the following year, almost one thousand employees were laid off, due to budget cuts. However, in October 2004, on reporting an even larger deficit, Kristiansen also stepped down as president, while placing kr. 800 million of his private funds into

6900-426: The company made it to Forbes Top 100 World's Most Valuable Brands 2018, being 97th on the list. The Lego Group has built eleven amusement parks around the world, each known as Legoland . Each park features large-scale Lego models of famous landmarks and miniature Lego models of famous cities, along with Lego-themed rides. The first Legoland park was built in Lego's home town of Billund in Denmark in 1968. This

7015-472: The company started making plastic blocks with knobs (Lego blocks) so that they could be put together. The basic LEGO brick has remained unchanged since its patent, and this enduring design has been associated with the toy’s widespread popularity. These bricks have become a recognizable part of childhood in many parts of the world. The LEGO Group, which has remained family-owned by the Christiansen family,

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7130-437: The company. In 2005, the Lego Group reported a 2004 net loss of kr. 1,931 million on a total turnover, including Legoland amusement parks , of kr. 7,934 million. For 2005, the company returned a profit of kr. 702 million, having increased its revenue by 12% to kr. 7,050 million in 2005 against kr. 315 million in 2004. It also cut expenditures and disposed of amusement parks and

7245-1189: The company. This returned the operation of the Legoland parks to the control of the Lego Group. The Lego Group operates 171 retail stores in North America and Europe (99 in the United States, 19 in the United Kingdom, 18 in Germany , 13 in Canada , 9 in France , 6 in Poland , 3 in Denmark, 4 in the Netherlands , 2 in Austria , 2 in Belgium , 2 in Sweden , 1 in Spain , 1 in Israel , 2 in Ireland . and some in Italy ). The Lego Group also franchised its store brand to

7360-471: The concept into a project page. Once the page is published it is viewable to other users. The goal of every project is to be supported by 10,000 different users, which would then make the project eligible for review. At first, projects would be kept on the Cuusoo/Ideas website for up to two years and then taken down if the project did not reach the 10,000 required votes of support. Lego Ideas later changed

7475-590: The controversy, the agreement has extensively incorporated intellectual property rights into the global trading system for the first time in 1995, and has prevailed as the most comprehensive agreement reached by the world. Intellectual property rights include patents , copyright , industrial design rights , trademarks , plant variety rights , trade dress , geographical indications , and in some jurisdictions trade secrets . There are also more specialized or derived varieties of sui generis exclusive rights, such as circuit design rights (called mask work rights in

7590-478: The creators country of origin. The set was re-released twice due to issues regarding neck stability of the set. The second release fixed these issues. ( Foosball Table ) 2022 LEGO Ideas offers contests to fan designers on the crowdsourcing platform. Prizes include LEGO sets or, in some cases, the possibility of transforming the first prize into an official LEGO set in the form of a GWP (Gift With Purchase). Currently, 6 competitions have been awarded with such

7705-444: The data. The WIPO treaty and several related international agreements underline that the protection of intellectual property rights is essential to maintaining economic growth. The WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook gives two reasons for intellectual property laws: One is to give statutory expression to the moral and economic rights of creators in their creations and the rights of the public in access to those creations. The second

7820-491: The design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. A trade secret is a formula , practice, process, design , instrument, pattern , or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors and customers. There is no formal government protection granted; each business must take measures to guard its own trade secrets (e.g., Formula of its soft drinks

7935-436: The difficulties in achieving the necessary durability and production efficiency. Despite previous commitments to reduce plastic waste, the company's recent efforts to create bricks from recycled plastic bottles did not result in the anticipated sustainable alternatives, as the production process resulted in a higher carbon footprint than anticipated. In 2024, investigative journalism by Danish news broadcaster DR revealed that

8050-520: The end of Elizabeth's reign, however, a patent represents a legal right obtained by an inventor providing for exclusive control over the production and sale of his mechanical or scientific invention. demonstrating the evolution of patents from royal prerogative to common-law doctrine. The term can be found used in an October 1845 Massachusetts Circuit Court ruling in the patent case Davoll et al. v. Brown , in which Justice Charles L. Woodbury wrote that "only in this way can we protect intellectual property,

8165-414: The evaluation of propagating material of the variety is considered. A trademark is a recognizable sign , design or expression that distinguishes a particular trader's products or services from similar products or services of other traders. Trade dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual and aesthetic appearance of a product or its packaging (or even

8280-510: The exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. ' " "Some commentators, such as David Levine and Michele Boldrin , dispute this justification. In 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office approximated that the worth of intellectual property to the U.S. economy is more than US$ 5 trillion and creates employment for an estimated 18 million American people. The value of intellectual property

8395-471: The extent of protection is defined in the claims of the granted patent. There is safe harbor in many jurisdictions to use a patented invention for research. This safe harbor does not exist in the US unless the research is done for purely philosophical purposes, or to gather data to prepare an application for regulatory approval of a drug. In general, patent infringement cases are handled under civil law (e.g., in

8510-486: The first 2015 review, announced in October 2015, no projects were selected for the first time as the many projects were rejected for various reasons. Many of these projects would not have met the revised submission standards issued in June 2016. A record 26 projects qualified for the first 2020 review followed by another record 35 qualified projects in the second 2020 review. Lego cited the sudden increase in projects surpassing

8625-440: The first half of the year, the first reported decrease in 13 years. The revenue losses are due to a more competitive environment, where the company has to compete not only against its traditional competitors Hasbro and Mattel , but also against technology companies such as Sony or Microsoft as more children use mobile devices for entertainment. The job cuts account for 8 per cent of the company's total workforce. In May 2018,

8740-670: The five years ending on 31 December 2013. It is seeking alternatives to crude oil as the raw material for its bricks. In June 2015, this resulted in the establishment of the Lego Sustainable Materials Centre, which is expected to recruit more than 100 employees, as a significant step towards the 2030 ambition of finding and implementing sustainable alternatives to current materials. In 2023, online magazine Wired reported that Lego has faced challenges in transitioning from traditional acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene plastic to more sustainable materials due to

8855-429: The form or manner in which they are expressed. An industrial design right (sometimes called "design right" or design patent ) protects the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian. An industrial design consists of the creation of a shape, configuration or composition of pattern or color, or combination of pattern and color in three-dimensional form containing aesthetic value. An industrial design can be

8970-751: The full social value of their inventions". This absolute protection or full value view treats intellectual property as another type of "real" property, typically adopting its law and rhetoric. Other recent developments in intellectual property law, such as the America Invents Act , stress international harmonization. Recently there has also been much debate over the desirability of using intellectual property rights to protect cultural heritage, including intangible ones, as well as over risks of commodification derived from this possibility. The issue still remains open in legal scholarship. These exclusive rights allow intellectual property owners to benefit from

9085-688: The global IP regime advocates for greater policy flexibility and greater access to knowledge, especially for developing countries." Indeed, with the Development Agenda adopted by WIPO in 2007, a set of 45 recommendations to adjust WIPO's activities to the specific needs of developing countries and aim to reduce distortions especially on issues such as patients' access to medicines, Internet users' access to information, farmers' access to seeds, programmers' access to source codes or students' access to scientific articles. However, this paradigm shift has not yet manifested itself in concrete legal reforms at

9200-616: The impact of its operations on the environment, in particular in areas such as climate change, resource and energy use and waste. All manufacturing sites are certified according to the environmental standard ISO 14001. The first Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind turbines off the coast of Germany began producing electricity in February 2015, which would help the Lego Group reach its goal of being based 100% on renewable energy by 2020. The company claims to recycle 90% of its waste and that it has made its operations nearly one-third more energy efficient over

9315-535: The international level. Similarly, it is based on these background that the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement requires members of the WTO to set minimum standards of legal protection, but its objective to have a "one-fits-all" protection law on Intellectual Property has been viewed with controversies regarding differences in the development level of countries. Despite

9430-460: The labors of the mind, productions and interests are as much a man's own ... as the wheat he cultivates, or the flocks he rears." The statement that "discoveries are ... property" goes back earlier. Section 1 of the French law of 1791 stated, "All new discoveries are the property of the author; to assure the inventor the property and temporary enjoyment of his discovery, there shall be delivered to him

9545-544: The next few years, and most of the existing stores have been remodelled on the new Brand Store template. One of the distinctive features of these new stores is the inclusion of a "Pick-A-Brick" system that allows customers to buy individual bricks in bulk quantities. The opening of most of these stores, including the 2003 opening of one in the Birmingham Bull Ring shopping centre in England, has been marked by

9660-406: The order of whichever projects hit 10,000 supporters within any of the three tri-annual deadlines of May, September, or January. Due to the increasing number of project submissions based on ideas that The Lego Group would reject, Lego Ideas has refined its submission standards over the years. Since its inception, a number of sets that have reached the 10,000 vote threshold have been rejected during

9775-431: The original film. Since the expiry of the last standing Lego patent in 1989, several companies have produced interlocking bricks that are similar to Lego bricks. The toy company Tyco Toys produced such bricks for a time; other competitors include Mega Bloks and Best-Lock . These competitor products are typically "compatible" with Lego bricks, and are often marketed at a lower cost than Lego sets. One such competitor

9890-453: The principle of Hasagat Ge'vul (unfair encroachment) was used to justify limited-term publisher (but not author) copyright in the 16th century. In 500 BCE, the government of the Greek state of Sybaris offered one year's patent "to all who should discover any new refinement in luxury". According to Jean-Frédéric Morin, "the global intellectual property regime is currently in the midst of

10005-856: The production of a new, special, limited edition, commemorative Lego Duplo piece. Lego opened the first brand store in its home country Denmark in Copenhagen on 13 December 2010. In 2016, three stores opened in Italy: one in Milan , one in the shopping centre near the Milan Bergamo Airport in Bergamo , and another in Verona . On 18 August 2022, Ireland's first Lego store was opened in Dublin on Grafton Street . On 2 December 2022, an official store

10120-673: The property they have created, providing a financial incentive for the creation of an investment in intellectual property, and, in case of patents, pay associated research and development costs. In the United States Article ;I Section 8 Clause 8 of the Constitution, commonly called the Patent and Copyright Clause, reads; "The Congress shall have power 'To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors

10235-583: The protection of intellectual property is essentially a moral issue. The belief is that the human mind itself is the source of wealth and survival and that all property at its base is intellectual property. To violate intellectual property is therefore no different morally than violating other property rights which compromises the very processes of survival and therefore constitutes an immoral act. Violation of intellectual property rights, called "infringement" with respect to patents, copyright, and trademarks, and "misappropriation" with respect to trade secrets, may be

10350-656: The requirements of the TRIPS Agreement. Criticism of the term intellectual property ranges from discussing its vagueness and abstract overreach to direct contention to the semantic validity of using words like property and rights in fashions that contradict practice and law. Many detractors think this term specially serves the doctrinal agenda of parties opposing reform in the public interest or otherwise abusing related legislations, and that it disallows intelligent discussion about specific and often unrelated aspects of copyright, patents, trademarks, etc. Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman argues that, although

10465-420: The review for various reasons. Some rejected sets have been based on specific intellectual properties were rejected due to the content matter presented. Any theme that relates to alcohol, sex, drugs, religious references, post-World War II warfare or based on a first-person shooter is deemed inappropriate for younger Lego fans. IPs that have been rejected for this reason have been based on Firefly and Shaun of

10580-542: The sale of Lego toys around the world. In North America, Samsonite managed the Lego brand from 1961 until 1972 (United States) and 1986 (Canada). The name Lego is a contraction of the Danish words: "Leg godt" (English: "Play well"). However, the name also means in Latin either "I collect", "I compose", "I choose", or "I read". These additional meanings, the first three of which are very relevant, only made sense when

10695-715: The strengthening of the IP system and subsequent economic growth." According to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , "everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author". Although the relationship between intellectual property and human rights is complex, there are moral arguments for intellectual property. The arguments that justify intellectual property fall into three major categories. Personality theorists believe intellectual property

10810-462: The term intellectual property is in wide use, it should be rejected altogether, because it "systematically distorts and confuses these issues, and its use was and is promoted by those who gain from this confusion". He claims that the term "operates as a catch-all to lump together disparate laws [which] originated separately, evolved differently, cover different activities, have different rules, and raise different public policy issues" and that it creates

10925-702: The term intellectual property in their new combined title, the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property . The organization subsequently relocated to Geneva in 1960 and was succeeded in 1967 with the establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) by treaty as an agency of the United Nations . According to legal scholar Mark Lemley , it

11040-403: The theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime. This law contains two provisions criminalizing two sorts of activity. The first, 18 U.S.C.   § 1831(a) , criminalizes the theft of trade secrets to benefit foreign powers. The second, 18 U.S.C.   § 1832 , criminalizes their theft for commercial or economic purposes. (The statutory penalties are different for

11155-490: The threshold to include a minimum number of 100 votes in the first 60 days after submission or the project would expire, followed by a year to reach 1,000 votes, another six months to reach 5,000 votes and finally six months to reach the 10,000 supported votes. Originally, project submissions were allowed to be about anything and had no limits on the size and style of project. After sets began to be rejected with stated reasons, Lego Ideas announced restrictions on content including

11270-609: The trial court's ruling. In 2003, the Lego Group won a lawsuit in Norway against the marketing group Biltema for its sale of Coko products, because the company used product confusion for marketing purposes. Also in 2003, a large shipment of Lego-like products marketed under the name "Enlighten" was seized by Finnish customs authorities. The packaging of the Enlighten products was similar to official Lego packaging. Their Chinese manufacturer failed to appear in court, and thus Lego won

11385-431: The two offenses.) In Commonwealth common law jurisdictions, confidentiality and trade secrets are regarded as an equitable right rather than a property right but penalties for theft are roughly the same as in the United States. The international governance of IP involves multiple overlapping institutions and forums. There is no overall rule-making body. One of the most important aspects of global IP governance

11500-617: The use of no new part molds, banning intellectual properties owned by competing toy companies, and adult content. Lego Ideas further restricted project submissions in June 2016 by limiting the size of the project to a maximum of 3,000 pieces, any project replicating a life-size weapon, and any project based on an intellectual property already produced as a set by Lego Ideas/Cuusoo. Ideas further restricted submissions in 2017 by disallowing any projects based on third-party licenses already being produced by Lego, such as Star Wars and Harry Potter . All eligible projects are collectively reviewed in

11615-542: The value of large businesses in the United States can be traced to intangible assets. "IP-intensive industries" are estimated to generate 72% more value added (price minus material cost) per employee than "non-IP-intensive industries". A joint research project of the WIPO and the United Nations University measuring the impact of IP systems on six Asian countries found "a positive correlation between

11730-449: The work's creator. It is often called "piracy". In the United States, while copyright is created the instant a work is fixed, generally the copyright holder can only get money damages if the owner registers the copyright. Enforcement of copyright is generally the responsibility of the copyright holder. The ACTA trade agreement , signed in May 2011 by the United States, Japan, Switzerland, and

11845-685: The world's production of Lego was produced at the Swiss facility in Baar . The Baar facility eventually closed in 2004. In 2014, Lego announced that it would not renew its promotional contract with Shell following a Greenpeace campaign protesting Shell’s plans to drill in the Arctic . Lego CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp expressed frustration at the company being used to target Shell, while Greenpeace insisted that firms like Lego should also consider their business partners' environmental impact. Lego acknowledges

11960-616: Was among the first inductees to the U.S. National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. Additionally, it was recognized as “Toy of the Century” by several organizations in 2000. LEGO bricks have been utilized in various creative projects, including large-scale replicas of famous monuments such as the Eiffel Tower and Mount Rushmore, as well as modern art installations. In the 21st century, the LEGO brand expanded into various electronic games, including

12075-545: Was announced that Lego would be launching a new "Research Institute" collection featuring female scientists including a female chemist, palaeontologist, and astronomer. The science-themed project was selected as the latest Lego Ideas winner and was submitted by Ellen Kooijman, a geochemist in Stockholm. Lego denied claims that the set was introduced to placate criticism of the company by activists, pointing to its Lego Ideas origins. The Research Institute range sold out within

12190-576: Was followed by Legoland Windsor Resort in Windsor, England, Legoland California in Carlsbad , United States and Legoland Deutschland Resort in Günzburg, Germany . In addition, Legoland Sierksdorf was opened in 1973 but soon closed in 1976. In July 2005, the Lego Group announced that it had reached a deal with private investment company Blackstone Inc. to sell all four parks for € 375 million to

12305-409: Was kr. 3,553 million compared with kr. 2,715 million for the first half of 2014. First half-year sales were driven by double-digit growth across all geographical regions and strong product innovation on themes such as Lego Ninjago , Lego Elves and Lego Creator . The Lego Group announced on 4 September 2017 its intention to cut 1,400 jobs following reduced revenue and profit in

12420-448: Was limited in time and scope. This is mainly as a result of knowledge being traditionally viewed as a public good, in order to allow its extensive dissemination and improvement. The concept's origin can potentially be traced back further. Jewish law includes several considerations whose effects are similar to those of modern intellectual property laws, though the notion of intellectual creations as property does not seem to exist—notably

12535-522: Was only at this point that the term really began to be used in the United States (which had not been a party to the Berne Convention), and it did not enter popular usage there until passage of the Bayh–Dole Act in 1980. The history of patents does not begin with inventions, but rather with royal grants by Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603) for monopoly privileges. Approximately 200 years after

12650-613: Was opened in Brescia , bringing the total number of Lego stores in Italy to 29. In 2023 there were a total of 66 stores in Europe, which are operated by Lego itself. In London at Leicester Square , there is the former largest Lego store in the world, with an area of 805 m . The first Lego store is expected to open doors in Sofia , Bulgaria on 19 December 2023 in the largest shopping centre in

12765-778: Was opened in Chennai , Tamil Nadu in March 2014 by Funskool , under licence from the Lego Group. But India's only operating Lego store in 2023 opened in Mumbai International Airport duty-free in 2021. The first Lego store in Israel was opened on the third floor of the Dizengoff Center in July 2022. Lego Interactive (formerly Lego Media and later Lego Software) was the video game publishing division of

12880-542: Was renamed Create Media Ventures Limited. The sale included Little Robots but excluded the Bionicle movies, which were retained by the Lego Group. Create was later dissolved in August 2016. Lego products are mass-produced , packaged and shipped on a large scale. Lego Produktion AG was a major production facility for Lego. It was founded in Switzerland in 1974. At the time of its announced closing in 2001, 30% of

12995-456: Was shut down in 2004. Former Lego Interactive staff opened Giant Interactive Entertainment to publish future Lego titles, which later became part of TT Games . Lego Media also operated a motion picture division, which produced the BBC children's series Little Robots for Cosgrove Hall Films . In 2003, this division was rebranded to Create TV and Film Limited and became independent from

13110-727: Was used as a heading title in a collection of essays. The German equivalent was used with the founding of the North German Confederation whose constitution granted legislative power over the protection of intellectual property ( Schutz des geistigen Eigentums ) to the confederation. When the administrative secretariats established by the Paris Convention (1883) and the Berne Convention (1886) merged in 1893, they located in Berne, and also adopted

13225-523: Was useful. By and large, these principles still remain the basic principles of current patent laws. The Statute of Monopolies (1624) and the British Statute of Anne (1710) are seen as the origins of the current patent law and copyright respectively, firmly establishing the concept of intellectual property. "Literary property" was the term predominantly used in the British legal debates of

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