The Danish toy company Lego has won a legal dispute over mini-figures made in China in the first instance: the district court in Düsseldorf ruled on Friday that a retailer from Paderborn must sell the figures that look "confusingly similar" to the mini-figures, destroy and compensate Lego for "any" harm caused by the trademark infringement.
The dealer is no longer allowed to sell the figures.
(Az. 38 O 91/21)
The owner of the European trademark rights to the Lego minifigures had sued.
The dealer in Paderborn sells toys made of bricks in the store and online, which can be built with Lego bricks and come from different manufacturers, as the court announced.
He also sells toys from a Chinese manufacturer.
The court ruled that Lego could rightly demand injunctive relief.
The Lego minifigure has been present on the German and European toy market for years, is encountered by practically everyone in everyday life, in advertising and in art, is advertised in a variety of ways and is very well known overall.
From the perspective of an average consumer, the imitations are "highly similar": The angular and stocky appearance, dominated by geometric shapes, with the rounded and large head in contrast to the body, is characteristic.
There is an "immediate likelihood of confusion".
The Paderborn dealer can appeal.