Best-Lock
 | |
| Company type | Building Sets |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | England |
| Products | Toys |
| Website | www.best-lock.com |
Best-Lock Construction Toys is a brand of plastic building bricks that are compatible with LEGO. Best-Lock Ltd is based in Colne, Lancashire, England.
Products
Best-Lock offers different sized blocks including Standard Blocks, Junior Blocks (young children 2-5), and Baby Blocks (For kids 0-2). Themes for Standard Blocks include Town sets (Police, Fire and Construction), military, pirates, farming, and Kimmy (Best-Lock sets made for females). Licensed sets include The Terminator and Stargate SG-1 themes.
Legal challenges
Best-Lock has been involved with multiple legal cases almost always involving LEGO. They defeated a patent challenge from LEGO in 2004.[1][2] In a further case in 2009, LEGO was denied trademark protection for the shape of its bricks;[3] however, in 2015, Best-Lock lost two cases in the European Court in which they attempted to deny LEGO trademark protection on the shape of its minifigs.[4][5]
Merger
Best-Lock and Cobi, a Polish building block manufacturer with a strong presence in Eastern Europe and Asia, announced a merger on February 2, 2006. The merger has since yielded co-branded building block toys. Toys are still sold under the separate labels Best-Lock and Cobi, but many Cobi sets appear in North American retailers such as Toys R' Us and Amazon.com under the Best-Lock brand.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Forty-year Monopolistic LEGO-Doctrine Ruling Reversed as Best-Lock Europe LTD Wins Patent and Trademark Case". Highbeam. March 28, 2005. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "Pressemitteilung Nr. 147/04 vom 3.12.2004". Juris.bundesgerichtshof.de. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ von RA Dennis Breuer (2012-04-19). "Pressemitteilung des BGH Nr. 158/2009: Legostein als Marke gelöscht | markenmagazin:recht". Markenmagazin.de. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
- ^ "Best-Lock (Europe) v OHMI - Lego Juris (Forme d'une figurine de jouet)".
- ^ "EU court rules Lego figurines are protected trademark". 2015-06-16.
- ^ "Best Lock Group Ltd. Is Pleased to Announce Its Merger with Cobi". Business Wire. 7 February 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
External links
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