LEGO sues Dutch concrete mould manufacturer for using its brand name

The LEGO Group is suing a Dutch concrete mould manufacturer for using its brand name ‘in a way that leads to damage’.

Betonblock’s website says its system of concrete block moulds is ‘similar to LEGO bricks’, drawing a line between the studs on top of LEGO elements and the studded system of its moulds, which ‘makes the blocks easy to stack’. The LEGO Group’s lawyer Jeroen Boelens argues this use infringes on the LEGO Group’s word mark – which legally prevents other companies using the word LEGO commercially – ‘in a way that leads to damage’.

“It is not forbidden to use a description of the LEGO brand, but with this website it is not descriptive,” Boelens told NH News. The aim of the lawsuit is apparently to protect the LEGO Group’s word mark and prevent the word LEGO from becoming a general term used carte blanche by other commercial outfits. But Betonblock’s Marketing Director Sander Tacx disagrees with the LEGO Group’s position.

“Those blocks look like LEGO bricks,” he said. “Customers contact us to ask if we sell moulds for concrete LEGO blocks. That's what we use on our site. We don't feel like LEGO is being damaged now. No eight-year-old child has ever been spoiled by his parents with a 2,500-kilo concrete block because he had asked for LEGO blocks.”

Betonblock’s lawyer Jesse Hofhuis says the comparison to LEGO bricks is ‘a common term in the concrete market’ and has been for several years. The case was heard at The Hague late last week, and NH News suggests the ruling will be delivered in around two weeks. Betonblock is apparently optimistic about the outcome, but Tacx says that should the LEGO Group emerge victorious, he hopes it will subsequently pursue other offenders in the industry to keep everyone on a level playing field.

The LEGO Group last year won cases in the Netherlands and Germany against companies infringing on specific element trademarks, while in 2022 it successfully blocked toy manufacturer Zuru from claiming its construction toys were ‘LEGO brick compatible’.

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