A crackdown on counterfeit Lego products has resulted in a South Korean court putting a seller on a two-year suspended 10-month sentence and fining him 10 million Korean won ($8,900).
Lego A/S said July 26 that the Seoul Southern District Court had found the defendant guilty of being in possession of 1,348 counterfeit products sold under the Lepin, Lele and SY brands, when his store was raided by the Korean judicial police last June.
In addition, the court found he had sold 2,627 counterfeit items online. The seller was not identified by the Danish toy company.
“We appreciate the South Korean Courts and authorities for taking such a strong stance on intellectual property protection and enforcement,” commented Robin Smith, Lego vice president general counsel for China and Asia Pacific.
The Lego official went on to say that the Danish company would continue to take action against copyright infringements of its products “in order to protect the reputation of our much-loved brand.”
In September 2017, Lego won a landmark case against two Chinese manufacturers producing Bela-branded Lego look-alike products in the country.
The case, which was Lego's first “anti-unfair competition” filing in China, was against two Chinese companies for making and selling Bela products that were “almost identical” to those of Lego.
In July 2017, the Beijing Higher Court passed a ruling recognizing the Lego logo and the Lego name in Chinese as "well known" trademarks in China.
The trademark recognition has put Lego in a strong position to act against infringement of its trademarks.
